India Maldives Ties

Government approves export of key commodities to Maldives for 2025-26

India on Tuesday notified exports of specified quantities of commodities like eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, and dal for the Maldives in the current fiscal year. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification said these exports have been permitted to the Maldives under the bilateral trade agreement between the countries in 2025-26. "Export of eggs, potatoes, onions, rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, stone aggregate and river sand to Maldives has been permitted under the bilateral trade agreement between India and Maldives for 2025-26," the DGFT said in a notification. The export of these items to the Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibition during this period. Items which are restricted or prohibited will be allowed only through the six designated customs ports including Mundra, Tuticorin, and Kandla. The specified quantity allowed includes potatoes (22,589 tonnes), onions (37,537 tonnes), rice (1,30,429 tonne

Maldives' security relies on good ties with India: Ex-President Nasheed

He acknowledged that there was a drop in the number of Indian tourists travelling to Maldives

India assumes chairmanship of Bay of Bengal Inter-Governmental Organisation

India has assumed the chairmanship of the Bay of Bengal Inter-Governmental Organisation at the 13th Governing Council Meeting in Male, Maldives.India assumed the chairmanship in the presence of senior government representatives from Sri Lanka, Maldives and Bangladesh, the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a press release.The event was part of the high-level conference 'Policy Guidance for Mainstreaming Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) in Small-Scale Fisheries', hosted by the Ministry of Fisheries & Ocean Resources of the Maldives government, in collaboration with the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), that has been successfully convened from February 20 to 22, 2025, in Lankanfinolhu, Maldives.As per the Ministry, the Indian delegation was led by Abhilaksh Likhi, Secretary, Department of Fisheries. He highlighted that India is committed to upholding and building upon the achievements of the Bay of Bengal

Budget 2025: Maldives gets more aid from India, but what about Bangladesh?

Union Budget 2025: India's foreign aid drops to Rs 5,483 crore in Budget 2025; Maldives sees a hike to Rs 600 crore, Afghanistan's aid doubles, while Myanmar faces a cut amid ongoing internal turmoil

In close touch with Male: India on Maldives' looming economic crisis

As the Maldives faces a looming economic crisis, India on Friday said it is in close touch with the island nation regarding the situation. The economy of the Maldives is reeling under increasing pressure, largely because of debt distress. "We remain in close touch with Maldivian authorities on the situation facing them," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. He was responding to a question at his weekly media briefing. Jaiswal also referred to some recent agreements signed by the Maldivian government, saying they are likely to result in revenue loss and that it is a matter of concern. "We would, obviously, need to take that into account while framing our own policies," he said. To a separate question on the upcoming talks between the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), Jaiswal said India expects all mutually-agreed agreements to be honoured. The director general-level talks between the BSF and the BGB are scheduled from .

R-Day 2025: PM Modi thanks world leaders for their wishes to India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday thanked world leaders for their wishes on India's 76th Republic Day. Thanking France President Emmanuel Macron, Modi said his presence at the R-day parade last year was a high point in the strategic partnership and enduring friendship between the two countries. "My dear friend, President @EmmanuelMacron, your kind greetings on India's 76th Republic Day are deeply appreciated. Your august presence last year on this day was indeed a high point in our strategic partnership and enduring friendship. See you soon at the AI Action Summit in Paris as we work together for better future of the humanity," he said in response to a post by Macron on X. In a separate post, Modi thanked Ireland Prime Minister Micheal Martin, saying, " I am confident that the enduring bonds of friendship between India and Ireland, based on the shared trust and belief in democracy, will continue to strengthen in times to come". India's rich cultural diversity, military prowess

Rajnath Singh reaffirms strengthening bilateral ties with Maldives

He emphasised the enduring spiritual, historical, linguistic, and ethnic ties between the nations

Rajnath Singh to meet Maldivian counterpart for high-level defence talks

The visit included high-level discussions and the signing of key agreements to advance development cooperation, marking a significant step in strengthening the bilateral ties between the two nations

India, Maldives to hold high-level defence talks to boost ties on Wednesday

Maldivian Defence Minister Mohammed Ghassan Maumoon will pay a three-day visit to India from Wednesday to deepen bilateral engagement ties amid a thaw in relations between the two countries. Maumoon will hold wide-ranging talks with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh besides meeting several senior officials in the national capital. The visit by the Maldivian minister comes over eight months after India withdrew its military personnel from the island nation following a demand by its pro-China president Mohamed Muizzu Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold a bilateral meeting with Maumoon in New Delhi on January 8, the defence ministry said. It said the two ministers will review the various facets of bilateral defence cooperation, including training, exercises and defence projects to enhance the capability of the Maldives National Defence Forces as well as supply of defence equipment. "The Maldives occupies a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy, which aims to bring .

Maldives a concrete expression of India's 'neighbourhood first' policy: EAM

The Maldives is a "very concrete" expression of India's neighbourhood first policy and New Delhi has always stood by the island nation, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said while hosting his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Khaleel for talks. In his opening remarks at the meeting, Jaishankar noted the finalisation of a framework to promote the use of local currencies for cross border trade between India and Maldives besides listing New Delhi's financial assistance to Male to help it deal with economic stress. Both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of high impact community development projects under phase-III in Maldives through grant assistance from India. In his comments, Khaleel reaffirmed President Mohamed Muizzu's firm commitment to work closely with New Delhi in realising the joint vision for India-Maldives comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership. Khaleel arrived here on Thursday on a three-day visit to explore ways to bolster .

'Compulsive hostility': Govt rejects Washington Post's Maldives report

India on Friday strongly trashed two recent reports published by the Washington Post -- one linking New Delhi to a failed plot to impeach Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and another on Indian agents allegedly attempting to eliminate certain terror elements in Pakistan. Dismissing the reports, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the newspaper and the reporter in question appear to nurse a "compulsive hostility" towards India. In its report on the Maldives, the Post, citing a document titled "Democratic Renewal Initiative", claimed that opposition politicians proposed bribing 40 members of Parliament, including those from Muizzu's own party, to vote to impeach him. After months of secret talks, the plotters failed to gather enough votes to impeach the president, it said. "Both the newspaper and the reporter in question appear to nurse a compulsive hostility towards India. You can see a pattern in their activities. I leave you to judge their ...

Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel begins 3-day visit to India

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel arrived here on Thursday on a three-day visit to explore ways to bolster bilateral ties in several key areas including maritime security, trade and investment. Khaleel's trip to India comes nearly three months after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu visited India. On Friday, the Maldivian foreign minister will hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar covering almost all aspects of India-Maldives ties. "Working towards India-Maldives joint vision of a 'Comprehensive Economic & Maritime Security Partnership'. Warm welcome to FM @abkhaleel of Maldives on his first official visit to India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on 'X'. The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral ties including in areas of defence and security witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous government in Male. The ties between India and the Maldives .

Ex-Maldives Prez dismisses report of India's hand in 'plot' against Muizzu

The former Maldives president stated he was unaware of any 'serious plot' against President Muizzu and added that India would never support such a move

Muizzu calls Manmohan Singh a 'great statesman,' recalls 2011 visit

Calling Dr Manmohan Singh as a great statesman, President Mohamed Muizzu on Sunday reminisced about his November 2011 visit to the Maldives and said it marked a momentous milestone that further cemented the bonds of friendship with India. Singh, India's prime minister for 10 years from 2004 to 2014, died in New Delhi on Thursday night. He was 92. Muizzu signed the condolence book at the High Commission of India in the Maldives following Singh's demise when his message also conveyed sympathies to the former Indian prime minister's family and the government and people of India, on behalf of the Government and people of the Maldives, during this time of profound loss, a statement from the president's office said. The Indian High Commission here reciprocated with a post on X: We appreciate the thoughtful gesture of HEP @MMuizzu for being the first dignitary to sign the condolence book @HCIMaldives on sad demise of Hon'ble former PM Dr Manmohan Singh. His words of support are truly value

Maldives Speaker accompanied by delegation to visit India from Feb 10-14

India on Friday said the Speaker of People's Republic of Maldives accompanied by a parliamentary delegation will visit the country from February 10-14 next year. Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita informed the Lok Sabha in a written response to a query. He was asked whether a number of parliamentary exchanges have been conducted by the government recently in alignment with the emphasis on the 'Neighbourhood First' Policy adopted in the recent years. The query also sought details of all parliamentary exchanges held in the recent years with special reference to the People's Majlis of Maldives. "In keeping with the objectives of the 'Neighbourhood First' Policy for enhancing people to people relations, regular parliamentary exchanges with our neighbouring countries have been taking place over the years," he said. In his response, he also shared details of the recent parliamentary exchanges with the neighbouring countries including with the Maldives. "At the ..

Karnataka hosts Maldives Prez Muizzu, aims to foster ties in IT, tourism

The Chief Minister highlighted Karnataka's reputation as the Silicon Valley of India, asserting, "We are known as the Silicon Valley of India and have developed an ecosystem for start-ups, AI"

Maldives opposition parties mock President Muizzu over 'U-turn' on India

As Maldives President Muhammad Muizzu visits India, the main opposition on Tuesday took a swipe at his naive and inexperienced administration and said it has now realised that diplomacy cannot be conducted through lies and deceit. Former president Mohamed Nasheed echoed the sentiment, terming India and Maldives as natural partners while referring to Muizzu's meetings with the Indian leadership in New Delhi. Muizzu is on his first state visit to India from October 6 to 10. Pro-China Muizzu had assumed office last November riding on the back of an aggressive 'India Out' campaign. Within hours of taking oath, he had asked India to repatriate its military personnel from the three platforms in the archipelagic nation. After mutual agreement, close to 90 personnel were repatriated by May 10 this year. The relations between the two South Asian nations further turned sour when two Maldivian ministers poked fun after Modi posted photographs of Lakshadweep Islands in January this year. Indi

India-Maldives interjoined by shared values of democracy: President Murmu

President Murmu noted that India is one of the top trading partners of Maldives and that there is also potential for taking forward collaboration in field of digital payments and other technologies

Maldives 1st Lady visits FSSAI office, discusses aspects of food standards

First Lady of Maldives Sajidha Mohamed on Monday visited the office of food regulator FSSAI and discussed key aspects of food safety standards. According to an official statement, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) had the honour of welcoming Sajidha Mohamed, First Lady of the Republic of Maldives and her delegation for a meeting held at FSSAI headquarter in the national capital. During the meeting, Sajidha Mohamed had an "engaging interaction with India's contact point for the Codex Alimentarius Commission, discussing key aspects of food safety standards and regulatory frameworks." The First Lady was apprised of the laboratory ecosystems established by FSSAI to ensure the highest standards of food safety across the nation. She mentioned that it will be "beneficial for Maldives to have a collaboration with India on improving food safety standards of the Maldives." As part of the meeting, FSSAI arranged a brief demonstration of its flagship initiative, Food Sa

India, Maldives sign currency swap agreements; agree to discuss FTA

India extended two currency swap agreements to the Maldives, including an agreement worth $400 million and another worth Rs 3,000 crore, to help the island nation's access to foreign currency