President Muizzu to depart on state visit to India on Sunday

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will depart for a state visit to India on Tuesday, October 6, following an official invitation from Indian President Droupadi Murmu.

President's Office Spokesperson Heena Waleed announced today that President Muizzu will visit India from October 6 to 10.

"President Muizzu will hold high level meetings with President Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and other senior Indian officials to discuss enhancing bilateral relations between the two nations," Heena said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The President will be accompanied by a high level delegation, with the Indian government offering full hospitality during the visit, according to the President’s Office.

This will be President Muizzu’s first state visit to India since assuming office on November 17 last year. However, he previously visited the country in June to attend the swearing in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and his Council of Ministers.

Indian media have reported that, in addition to Delhi, President Muizzu will be visiting Mumbai and Bangalore during his visit.

President Muizzu and Prime Minister Modi last met on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai in December last year. His visit comes as relations between the Maldives and India have seen significant improvement.

Relations between the two countries had deteriorated after two Maldivian deputy ministers made defamatory comments about Prime Minister Modi and India on social media, amidst ongoing discussions about the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the Maldives. The two officials, Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna were suspended from their roles in the Ministry of Youth and later resigned on September 10.

Withdrawal of Indian military personnel was a key pledge of President Muizzu, and the transition was carried out peacefully, with civilians replacing Indian troops as per the agreement between the two governments.