India- Maldives: President Mohamed Muizzu Meets Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi
Asia News Agency
At a meeting between Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi Friday, the former called on China to expedite key infrastructure development projects for which the two countries have signed agreements while seeking aid from Beijing to economically diversify, especially in agriculture and fisheries.
The Maldives hosted Wang after Malé’s foreign minister and defence minister made back-to-back visits to India earlier this month. The ministerial visits indicated the thawing of ties between New Delhi and Malé, following a diplomatic chill since the first half of 2024.
Chinese readout: “China will, as always, support the Maldives in safeguarding its national independence and sovereignty and actively exploring a development path that suits its national conditions. The current international situation is turbulent and intertwined. China is the most important stabilising force in a turbulent world,” said the Chinese readout of the meeting between Muizzu and Wang.
The low in relations with India
During one of Muizzu’s earliest state visits was to China in January 2024, the two countries upgraded their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
India-Maldives ties were hit in January 2024 when three Maldivian deputy ministers made racist jibes at New Delhi and Indians.
Moreover, Malé spent the first part of 2024 negotiating the removal of unarmed Indian military personnel from Maldives, eventually succeeding in replacing them with a technical team. However, India-Maldives ties are improving, and New Delhi announced two rollovers of at least $50 million each in loans starting May last year.
India popping up Maldivian economy: The Maldivian economy has been struggling in the last year, especially with foreign exchange reserves. In October, one of the important outcomes from Muizzu’s visit to India was the announcement of roughly $750 million in currency swap lines by New Delhi for Malé.
Tourism: India had been the largest source of tourists to Maldives following the pandemic, but in 2024, Chinese tourists took the top spot.
Interestingly, the Chinese readout of the meeting quoted President Muizu as saying “I am very pleased that China has become the largest source of tourists for the Maldives. Maldives is willing to always be China’s closest partner, continuously consolidate traditional friendship, strengthen cooperation in various fields, and promote greater development of bilateral relations”.
