'Rough patches' in ties resolved after India's troop pullout: Male

NEW DELHI: Misunderstandings with India have been resolved through the latter's withdrawal of troops from the Maldives, the Indian Ocean neighbour said as India prepares to host President Mohamed Muizzu for his first official visit this month.

Ties between the two nations have seen dramatic improvement since India replaced its military personnel, who manned Indian govt's relief choppers and aircraft, with civilian staff, leading to resumption of high-level visits. Muizzu had insisted on Indian troop withdrawal saying he would not allow any country to interfere with or undermine the Maldives' sovereignty.

However, the thaw in ties with India has not come at the expense of the archipelago nation's reorientation towards China, as obvious from the agreement it signed last week to boost trade and investment ties with Beijing and also continued talks to strengthen defence cooperation between the two countries.

Speaking about Maldives' ties with India and China, while on a visit to Sri Lanka, foreign minister Moosa Zameer admitted relations with India had faced challenges, following Muizzu's efforts to expel Indian military personnel. "At the start of our govt, we did have some rough patches (with India), you know," Zameer was quoted as saying by a Maldivian newspaper. He added these "misunderstandings" had been resolved following the repatriation of Indian troops. Interestingly, the day Muizzu's office announced his visit to India, the Maldivian media also reported that two junior ministers who had made derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year had resigned from the govt.

"We have good relations with both China and India, and both countries continue to support Maldives," he said, while thanking both countries for their support at a time international credit agencies were warning about the country's financial health.

Zameer said that the Maldives has no plans to seek an IMF bailout, dismissing the current economic challenges faced by his country as "temporary." He said, "We have bilateral partners who are very sensitive to our needs and our situation. I seriously don't think it is a time where we will be right now engaging with the IMF. The issue that we have is very temporary because currently, we are having a dip in reserves."

China was reported this week to have pulled the Maldives from the brink of a financial crisis with a bilateral agreement that will apparently act a framework for cooperation in "promoting the settlement of current account transactions and direct investments in local currencies".

"China will, as always, provide support and assistance to the economic and social development of the Maldives within its capability," said a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson.


Select The Times of India as your preferred source on Google Search

Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Valentine's day wishes, messages and gift idea !