Page 6 - India Maldives Ties

Govt assisting five nations develop early warning systems, says IMD chief

India is helping Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mauritius develop early warning systems to reduce the loss of life and property due to extreme weather events, IMD chief Mrutyunjay Mohapatra has said. In a conversation with PTI editors, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) director general said India will play the role of a big brother and a peer advisor to Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mauritius in the efforts to guard against the impact of extreme weather events. India's efforts are part of the 'Early Warnings for All' initiative announced by the United Nations in 2022 to ensure that everyone is protected from hazardous weather, water or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027. Mohapatra said India is helping five of the 30 countries identified across the world for the first phase of the initiative of establishing early warning systems. "Fifty per cent of the countries do not have an early warning system. The poor .

Suspended Maldives minister apologises after post on Indian flag sparks row

Mariyam Shiuna had shared a social media post showing an opposition party's poster with the Ashok Chakra in the middle

India allows exports of essential goods to Maldives despite strained ties

India, a leading exporter of rice, sugar and onions, has imposed various curbs on exports of these food commodities to keep a lid on local prices ahead of general election

Maldives still considers India as a friend: Minister Mohamed Saeed

The Maldives still considers India a friend, the tourism-dependent country's economic minister has said while defending President Mohamed Muizzu's stand against the presence of "foreign soldiers" in the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Within hours of taking oath last November, Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, asked India to withdraw its 88 military personnel from the country, saying their presence was a threat to Maldives' sovereignty. During an interview with Turkey-based news outlet TRT World on Wednesday, Maldives' Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed was asked whether Male can be friends with both China and India, to which he responded that Maldives is a friend of all countries, not just the two. I think the Maldives is a friend of all the countries, not only two countries. We are a tourist country and open to the world. As a holiday destination, we are appreciated by both Chinese and Indians. As far as trade is concerned, both markets are important to the Maldives,

Prez Muizzu alleges his predecessor operated on 'foreign ambassador' orders

In an interview with Public Service Media (PSM), President Muizzu responded to criticism regarding the recent procurement of military drones

Maldives President Muizzu calls India its closest ally, seeks debt relief

After his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has struck a reconciliatory tone, saying India will continue to remain his country's closest ally and urged New Delhi to provide debt relief to the archipelago nation. The Maldives owed approximately USD 400.9 million to India by the end of last year. Ever since he took oath as the president in November last year, the pro-China Maldivian leader has pursued a hardline stand towards India and within hours had demanded that Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms be repatriated from his country by May 10. On Thursday, in his first interview with the local media since assuming office, Muizzu said India was instrumental in providing aid to the Maldives and has implemented the greatest number of projects. India will continue to remain the Maldives' closest ally, he said and emphasised that there was no question about it, Maldives news portal Edition.mv said in a report that carried excerpts of Muizzu's

Amid strained ties, Maldives Prez Muizzu seeks debt relief from India

Recently, Maldives Tourism Ministry data showed that the number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives has dropped by 33 per cent as compared to last year

Ballot boxes for Malvides' polls to be placed in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia

The ballot boxes for Maldives' upcoming parliamentary elections will be placed in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia, after around 11,000 Maldivians submitted re-registration requests to relocate their polling stations, the country's election commission announced on Sunday. The six-day window for people to relocate their voting stations for the April 21 parliamentary elections expired on Saturday, media reports said, citing an Elections Commission notification. The top electoral body said that ballot boxes for the island nation's elections will also be placed in Trivandrum (Thiruvananthapuram), the capital of Kerala, Sri Lanka's Colombo and Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur after at least 150 people re-register to vote in each of the three countries. "As previously, enough people registered in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. And since 150 people had registered in Trivandrum, India, we have decided to set up a ballot box there," web portal adadhu.com quoted EC's secretary-general Hassan Zakariyya as ...

New Delhi, Male review withdrawal of Indian military force from Maldives

India and the Maldives on Sunday reviewed the ongoing process of replacing Indian military personnel from the island nation with Male saying the second group will leave by April 10. The two sides held the third meeting of the bilateral high-level core group in Male, days after India withdrew the first team of military personnel that was operating an advanced light helicopter in the Indian Ocean archipelago. The military team has been replaced by civilian technical experts. The Indian personnel are operating three aviation platforms in the Maldives and New Delhi is now deploying civilian personnel to operate them. Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu had set March 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his country. "During the meeting, both sides reviewed the ongoing deputation of Indian technical personnel to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac (medical evacuation) services t

Indian tourists shun Maldives, island nation feels the pinch: Reports

Indian tourists, who used to flock to the Maldives, are now shunning the island nation and its tourism industry is already feeling the pinch of declined revenue, prompting calls for mending the fence with New Delhi. India has slipped to sixth position in 2024 compared to being a topper in visitor numbers in 2023, prompting voices from the local tourism industry to flag the danger for the tourism-dependent economy of the archipelagic country in the Indian Ocean. A full-blown backlash was directed at the Maldives following derogatory remarks against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media by three Maldivian officials after Modi posted photos and video of the pristine Lakshadweep Islands on India's west coast on January 6 on his X handle. According to the Maldives Tourism Ministry statistics, over 17 lakh tourists visited the island nation in 2023, out of which more than 2,09,198 visitors were Indians followed by Russians (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118). The number of .

India's boycott call impacted a lot, people are sorry: Ex-Maldivian Prez

Nasheed, currently in India, conveyed apologies on behalf of the Maldivian people and emphasised their wish for Indian tourists to continue visiting the country

Mauritius deepens India's naval reach

With the Maldives veering towards China, Mauritius is emerging as a decisive factor in ensuring India's dominance in the Indian Ocean Region

Maldives-China defence pact to obtain non-lethal weapons, training: Muizzu

The Maldives will get free "non-lethal" military equipment and training from China's military under a newly inked agreement with Beijing, President Mohamed Muizzu has said, underlining that it would further strengthen the Indian Ocean island nation's independence and autonomy. Muizzu also met Major General Zhang Baoqun, Deputy Director of the Office for International Military Cooperation of China, and President of the Export-Import Bank of China, Ren Shengjun separately. Earlier on Monday, the Maldives Ministry of Defence announced that a military assistance agreement has been signed by Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon and Major General Zhang. However, it did not reveal any additional details. This is the first time Maldives has signed a deal with China for military cooperation of this level. Previously, China had been exclusively known for its assistance towards urban and economic development of the Maldives, news portal Sun.mv said. Speaking late on Tuesday evening with .

No Indian troops, not even in civilian clothing on my island: Maldives Prez

Stepping up his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10, a media report said on Tuesday. Muizzu's statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the Maldives to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel. Addressing the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community during his tour across the atoll, the President stated that due to his government's success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation, a news portal Edition.mv reported. That these people [Indian military] are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing. We must not indulge such thoughts that insti

Amid diplomatic row with India, Maldives sign new military pact with China

The new military pact between China and the Maldives comes just weeks after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu requested the withdrawal of a contingent of Indian military personnel stationed there

Big bullies don't provide $4.5 bn in aid to neighbours: EAM Jaishankar

Stressing it was essential for an 'average person' to actively engage with foreign policy matters, EAM Jaishankar said, "Certainly, all Indians need to take more interest in foreign policy

First batch of Indian technical personnel have reached Maldives, says MEA

The Mohamed Muizzu-led Maldives government has formally requested that India withdraw its troops from Male

Chinese research ship departs from shores of Maldives after a week: Report

A 4,500-tonne high-tech Chinese research vessel which made a port call here last week has left the shores of the Maldives, local media reports said on Wednesday. Officially, the Chinese vessel Xiang Yang Hong 3 was here to "make a port call, for the rotation of its personnel and replenishment." Xiang Yang Hong 03 has returned to the boundary of the Maldives' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) after docking in Male on February 22. However, despite departing from the Male harbour, tracking sites have shown the vessel's last signal near Hulhumale' two days ago, news portal Adhadhu.com said. Hulhumale is less than 10 kms northeast of Male. The vessel had docked on February 23 in Thilafushi, about 7.5 kms to the west of Male. The vessel is expected to have turned off tracking systems, which it also did en route to Male' on January 22 when it was in the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia, it reported. The news portal also provided some details about the type of vessel Xiang Yang Hong 03. Th

Centre's projects in Maldives gain pace, despite strained security ties

New Delhi has spent nearly Rs 7.71 billion ($93 million), or almost twice its budgeted 4 billion on projects in the Maldives during this fiscal year, which ends in March, according to an official

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma to visit India next week

United States' Indian-American Deputy Secretary of State Richard Verma will be on a six-day long official visit to India, Sri Lanka and Maldives next week to strengthen bilateral ties with the nations, along with reaffirming America's enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region. Verma, who is currently the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, and the second senior post in the State Department, will travel to India, Maldives, and Sri Lanka from February 18-23 to strengthen America's cooperation with each of these key Indo-Pacific partners. Shortly following the two-year anniversary of the US Indo-Pacific Strategy, his trip will reaffirm the United States' enduring commitment to a free, open, secure, and prosperous region, a media release said. In New Delhi, Verma will meet with senior government officials, business leaders, and entrepreneurs to advance the US-Indian global strategic partnership on a full range of issues, including economic ..