Maldives President Muizzu acknowledges India's 'crucial role' ahead of State Visit

Male/New Delhi: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu will embark on a State Visit to India from October 6 to 10 following an official invitation extended by President of India Droupadi Murmu, his office announced on Friday.

During his first bilateral visit, Muizzu is scheduled to hold high-level meetings with President Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials of the Indian government.

"President Dr Muizzu remains committed to enhancing bilateral ties with nations that play a crucial role in the development and growth of the Maldives, ensuring a dynamic and proactive foreign policy for the nation... Discussions will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and further enhancing the longstanding relationship between the two nations," Muizzu's office said in a statement on Friday.

Earlier this year, the Maldives President had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 9, 2024.

He had also met PM Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1, 2023.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the Maldives President, accompanied by a high-level delegation from his country, will also be visiting Mumbai and Bengaluru where he will have business engagements.

"The visit signifies the importance India attaches to its relations with Maldives. It is expected to lend further momentum to cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday afternoon.

In August, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had visited Maldives on an official three-day visit, his first since assuming the office for a second term in June.

Before that, he had previously visited the strategically-significant Indian Ocean archipelago in January 2023 as India maintained that Maldives occupies an important place in New Delhi's vision of 'Neighbourhood First' and 'SAGAR'.

Even as the relationship between the two countries became strained last year, India remained a key provider of development assistance to the island nation with several projects funded by India benefitting the lives of thousands of people in the country.