Mumbai: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday met with top Bollywood actors during an event held to promote the Maldives tourism brand and destination, where the Maldives head of state has invited the B-town celebrities to visit the island nation for their film shootings,en.sun.mv reported. The President met with newly weeded actress Sonakshi Sinha, Shilpa Shetty, Sohail Khan and others.
Notably, 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 the oath, he had asked India to repatriate its military personnel from the three platforms in the archipelagic nation.
Bollywood's call for Boycott Maldives
In January this year, several Bollywood celebrities asked their fans to boycott Maldives after three of Muizzu's ministers mocked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep where he embraced the beauty of the region. This led to a huge loss to the archipelago nation which is totally dependent upon tourism for its economy. Moreover, the country is also grappling with a huge economic crisis. This prompted the Maldivian President to take a U-turn during his visit to India.
On Tuesday, when Muizzu met the Bollywood actors, he invited celebrities to visit the Maldives for their next film shooting and utilise the scenic imageries of the Maldives in their movies to promote the island nation. Sonakshi, who is known for her frequent visits to the Maldives, in an interview during the meeting highlighted the Maldives is among her favourite holiday destinations, which the actress said is evident from her Instagram posts and reels.
Sinha said she enjoyed the beautiful weather and hospitality in the Maldives, which she said were the top highlights of the country and noted that she frequented the country due to her enthusiasm for diving, reported the Maldivian media.
While speaking at the event, the Rowdy Rathore actress said the Maldives was ‘Paradise on earth’ adding that travellers will not be disappointed after visiting the country.
Maharastra Governor hots dinner for Muizzu and First Lady
Later in the evening, Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan hosted a dinner for Muizzu at Raj Bhavan, which was attended by several dignitaries. According to the statement released by the President's Office, Muizzu thanked the Governor and the people of Mumbai for their warm welcome and generous hospitality. He highlighted the upcoming 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations with India, emphasising the Maldives’ valued relationship with India.
Governor Radhakrishnan noted the close bilateral relations between India and the Maldives, spanning trade, tourism, and business. He emphasised the importance of building on the linkages between the peoples of the Maldives and Maharashtra to advance cooperation in these and other areas, read the statement.
Maldives President faces huge backlash in his own country
As the Maldives is grappling with a serious economic downturn, India extended vital budgetary support to the Maldives government with the rollover of a USD 50 million Treasury Bill for another year. In New Delhi, Muizzu met President Draupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar among others.
A 'vision document' issued after the bilateral talks between Modi and Muizzu agreed that India will support Maldives with defence platforms and assets to augment the capabilities of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
Scores of Maldivian X users also drew attention to Muizzu's u-turn while some of them had praise for the development. News portal Adhadhu.com said, “As Muizzu continues his state visit to India, social media users have been flooding various platforms with posts made by senior government officials while they were in the opposition.”
Scores of social media users also recalled Muizzu's anti-India statements and posted screenshots of them with sarcastic messages. “It is crystal clear now that #IndiaOut was a SHAMELESS LIE used by @Mmuizzu to deceive us into voting for him and to SPREAD LIES about @ibusolih's presidency,” said one user on X.
(With inputs from agencies)
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