External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was on an official visit to the neighbouring island nation of Maldives from 9 to 11 August. This was the first high-level visit from New Delhi after President Mohammed Muizzu assumed office in November last year. Muizzu is considered a pro-China leader. An anti-India campaign was launched after he assumed office, but the Maldives Foreign Ministry has said that External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit to Male is an important ‘milestone’ in bilateral relations. This changed stance of Male is in sharp contrast to its aggressive “India Out” campaign on a large scale. That is, the Maldives, which was giving the slogan of India Out last year, has now taken a U-turn on this stance and has started expressing its desire to take its friendship and strong relations with India to new heights.
Muizzu also said at a ceremony during Jaishankar’s visit, “India has always been one of our closest allies and invaluable partners, providing us with assistance whenever we need it.” Muizzu said the two countries will take their historic ties to greater heights in the years to come. Muizzu also said the withdrawal of Indian troops stationed in the Maldives was part of the campaign manifesto supported by voters. He assured that the Maldives will ensure “peace and stability” of the Indian Ocean.
Experts are saying that this changed face of Mohammed Muizzu, who was inclined towards China, has come to the fore but Male has not taken this U-turn suddenly, rather the events and circumstances of the last 9 months are responsible for this. Actually, Indian tourists had boycotted Maldives after the diplomatic dispute arising from the insulting remarks of three deputy ministers of Maldives against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After this incident which happened in early January this year, many celebrities and Bollywood stars had started a campaign to boycott Maldives.
Due to this, only 74,985 tourists from India reached Maldives till August 12 this year, compared to 128,756 till August 15 last year. That is, 53,771 fewer tourists arrived and most of the tourists who visited have gone before January 2024. Due to the huge drop in tourists from India, Maldives has suffered an estimated loss of about Rs 1258 crore ($150 million).
This is the reason why Maldives, which was raising the slogan of ‘India Out’ in November last year, is now raising the slogan of ‘Welcome India’ after nine months. Let us tell you that earlier this month, the Tourism Minister of Maldives led a delegation during the organization of a road show called “Welcome India” in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The purpose of this road show was to try to bring Indians back to the beaches of Maldives during holidays. This change of heart of Male shows that India is not only a priority but also supreme for its foreign policy.
