Prime Minister Narendra Modi and new Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Saturday expressed confidence in the “renewal of the close bonds of cooperation and friendship” between the two countries. Modi attended Solih’s swearing-in ceremony in Male on Saturday. Solih, who represented the Maldivian Democratic Party-led Opposition coalition, had won the presidential elections in September.
In a meeting after the ceremony, Modi and Solih agreed on the importance of maintaining peace and security in the Indian Ocean and “being mindful of each other’s concerns and aspirations for the stability of the region”, a joint statement said.
Modi assured Solih of India’s commitment in assisting the Maldives in achieving sustainable social and economic development. Solih also briefed Modi about the dire economic situation the Maldives faces. The foreign minister of Maldives will visit India on November 26 for further discussions.
In his speech after taking oath, Solih promised to remove corruption, prioritise environmental protection programmes, offer free college education and free breakfast for schoolchildren. Solih mentioned India twice in his speech, The Hindu reported.
Modi was given a red-carpet welcome and greeted at the airport by Maldives Parliament’s new Speaker Qasim Ibrahim. The Indian prime minister visited the presidential palace after the ceremony.
Modi’s first visit to the island nation is significant because outgoing President Abdulla Yameen had diluted the country’s traditional India-first foreign policy to seek investment and assistance from New Delhi’s geopolitical rivals China and Pakistan, as well as Saudi Arabia. Bilateral ties had further taken a hit after Yameen imposed a state of emergency in February for 45 days, throwing Maldives into a political crisis.
With Solih in charge, things are expected to change. In September, he described India as the country’s “closest ally” and said the cordial relationship would continue. Meanwhile, India’s Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Modi’s visit was in keeping with the policy of “neighbourhood first”. The visit was announced last week.
Modi was the highest-ranking visitor at the inauguration ceremony, while China’s highest-ranking official in attendance will be Culture and Tourism Minister Luo Shugang.
Solih and his team are reviewing millions of dollars of investments from China as well as the debts taken from Chinese lenders. A member of Solih’s transition team, Adam Azim, on Thursday said the new president plans to launch an investigation into the investments and fix accountability.
“We were led to believe it’s about $1.5 billion, the Chinese debt, but it could be worse,” an unidentified member of Solih’s top economic team told Reuters, adding that they have already reached out to India, the United States and Saudi Arabia for financial aid in order to deal with the debt.
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