Leaving diplomatic row behind, Maldives President wishes India on Republic Day

Highlighting the Maldives-India bond “nurtured by centuries of friendship, mutual respect, and a deep sense of kinship,” President Mohamed Muizzu on Friday wished India on the occasion of its 75th Republic Day.

The President’s greeting ‘from the Government and the people of the Maldives’ to ‘the Government and the people of India,’ came in the backdrop of a diplomatic row between the two nations over several issues that unfolded after China-leaning Muizzu took the oath of office in November last year.

Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer and two former presidents, Mohamed Nasheed and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, too wished India on their social media platforms. A statement from Muizzu’s office said the President sent greetings and good wishes to the President and Prime Minister of India in separate messages and conveyed greetings and extended his heartfelt felicitations.

Muizzu “underscored the Maldives-India bond nurtured by centuries of friendship, mutual respect, and a deep sense of kinship,” and expressed hope for “continued peace, progress, and prosperity” for the Government and people of India for years to come, the statement said.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Zameer congratulated his counterpart S Jaishankar and the friendly people of India with “warmest greetings and sincere good wishes” and said, in a post on X, “I am confident that the close bonds of friendship and cooperation between Maldives and India will continue to flourish in the years ahead.”

The diplomatic row started with Muizzu demanding India to repatriate its military personnel from the island nation within 24 hours of his swearing-in, followed by his decision to make China the first port of call breaking the tradition of visiting India first, and a muddied atmosphere due to unruly comments by three Maldivian ministers on social media against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The latest in the series was the Maldives agreeing earlier this week to allow a Chinese research vessel to dock at Male port against India’s apprehension about the Chinese navy’s growing forays in the Indian Ocean. Nasheed took to X to post: “A very happy Republic Day to the Prime Minister and people of India! Maldives-Indian friendship is eternal, and we are very grateful to India, its people and personnel, for all the assistance provided to us over the years.”

So did Solih, who said, “May the unbreakable bonds of friendship that have long existed between Maldives and India go from strength to strength.”

The Maldives’ proximity to India, barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland’s western coast, and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it significant strategic importance.

The Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the IOR and occupies a special place in its initiatives like SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy’ of the Narendra Modi government.