Maldives president Muizzu visits India amid trouble in tourist paradise
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu is expected to seek financial assistance from India during his upcoming visit as his country faces a growing economic crisis and the possibility of a debt default.
This will be Muizzu’s first official bilateral visit since assuming office late last year. His election campaign was notably centered on the ‘India Out’ policy, pledging to reduce India's influence in the Maldives. However, despite this rhetoric, Muizzu’s visit to India signals that the Maldives cannot afford to overlook its larger neighbor amidst ongoing economic challenges.
The Maldives' foreign exchange reserves stood at approximately $440 million (£334 million) as of September, enough to cover only around six weeks of imports. Last month, the global credit rating agency Moody's downgraded the Maldives' credit rating, citing significantly increased risks of default.
A potential financial bailout from India could help stabilize the Maldives' foreign reserves, providing much-needed relief.
President Muizzu’s previous diplomatic visits to Turkey and China before India, including his high-profile visit to Beijing in January, were viewed as a diplomatic snub to Delhi. Traditionally, newly elected Maldivian leaders have made India their first foreign destination. Additionally, a controversy flared in India when three Maldivian officials made derogatory remarks about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi around that same time.
The Maldives, an archipelago of around 1,200 islands and atolls in the Indian Ocean, has a population of about 520,000, in stark contrast to India's 1.4 billion. As a small island nation, the Maldives relies heavily on India for essential supplies such as food, healthcare, and infrastructure development.
While there is no official confirmation from either side regarding a financial package during Muizzu's visit, experts expect the issue to be a key topic of discussion.
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