Maldives Defence Minister to visit India next week

New Delhi: Maldives defence minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon will be visiting India next week, on January 7th and 8th, a visit that comes just days after the visit of Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel. This will be the first-ever visit of Maldives’ Defence minister to Delhi since the current Muizzu government took charge in November 2023, and it comes even as ties continue on a positive trajectory. Confirming the visit, the Maldives foreign minister Khaleel in an interview with WION on Saturday (Dec 4) said that the visit will help in enhancing “understanding for both nations in the security area”. 

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The visit of the Maldives defence minister is significant since Muizzu government had called for the removal of Indian military personnel from the country, something that was his election promise. This was part of his broader pledge to ensure no foreign military presence on Maldivian soil. The Indian military personnel were involved in manning the Indian assets kept in the country for humanitarian assistance. After number of rounds of talks, the military personnel were replaced by civilian technical staff to operate the aviation platforms.

Despite the demand for troop withdrawal, defence dialogues and cooperation agreements have continued. The fifth round of the India-Maldives Defence Cooperation Dialogue was held in September 2024, focusing on bilateral defense cooperation and the stability of the Indian Ocean Region. With the visit of Maldives defence minister, ties are expected to gain new momentum in defence domain. India has been instrumental in training Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel. Point exercises like “Ekuverin” are part of regular military engagements between the two countries.

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The Maldives FM Khaleel in the interview highlighted that, “our Coast Guard building is almost completed. Some minor works to be done before inauguration of the building. So once this is implemented, it will be one of the it will enhance the security domain of the Maldives as well”.

The Maldives Defence minister’s visit is the 3rd consecutive visit to Delhi from Male in last few weeks, after the visit of foreign and finance minister. The series of high-level incoming visits from Maldives, two of them, the foreign and defence minister’s visit being the first incoming ministerial visits to India in the new year shows a significant re-set in the ties. Last year saw President Muizzu visiting India 2 times, first for the oath taking ceremony of PM Modi and then for a bilateral visit. EAM Dr S Jaishankar had travelled to the country as well, with an invitation extended for PM Modi’s visit.