New Delhi: Maldives foreign minister Moosa Zameer, who is currently on his first official visit to India, distanced himself from the derogatory remarks made by Maldivian ministers towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this year that strained bilateral relations between the two countries. Zameer said the remarks do not represent the official stance of the Mohamed Muizzu-led government and "proper action" is being taken to ensure that such a situation is not repeated.
In an interview with news agency ANI, Zameer said, "I think if you have seen, we have said that it's not the stand of the government or it's not the view of the government. And we believe it shouldn't have been done. And then we are taking proper action to make sure that this doesn't repeat." He also alluded to "misunderstandings" mainly due to social media but both governments have passed the stage. This came after the Maldivian minister held delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.
The relations between the two nations nosedived after three Maldivian deputy ministers made derogatory statements about PM Modi for raising the idea of promoting tourism in Lakshadweep, India's own string of islands similar to the Maldives. This triggered a massive backlash on social media, where Indian influencers and activists started a boycott campaign of Maldives tourism. The three ministers were later suspended indefinitely.
Scores of Indians, including multiple celebrities, cancelled their reservations and dropped plans to visit Maldives. The tourism arrival statistics reflected how from being a top visitor country, India’s position went down from topmost to sixth position after January. As per a local media report, the number of tourist arrivals from India declined by 42 per cent in the first four months of this year compared to the first four months of last year.
We would like to welcome Indians to Maldives: Zameer
As the Maldivian economy depends heavily on tourism, Zameer expressed the Maldivian government's eagerness to mend ties with India and reiterated their invitation to Indian tourists. "I think the Minister of Tourism has clearly said that he would like to welcome and I myself would like to welcome all Indians who would like to travel to Maldives. I think in the long term, once we move forward because if you're seen in the last eight months, in Maldives and India, we are going through election cycles. So I think we will move beyond that phase pretty soon and we would like all Indian tourists to come back," he said.
Zameer also underscored that Indian tourists travelled to the archipelago nation in high numbers despite the troubling period of the COVID-19 pandemic and expressed optimism that the number of tourist arrivals from India will pick up. He further said that economic cooperation with India has been an "integral part" of the Maldivian economy.
"Maldivian people have benefited from the debt that we have received and also from a lot of grants that we have received from the Indian government. And we really appreciate that," he said after delegation-level talks with Jaishankar. In his opening remarks, Jaishankar extended a "very very warm welcome" to Zameer on his first visit to the country and stressed that the development of India-Maldives ties is based on mutual interests and reciprocal sensitivity.
'We're discussing President Muizzu's visit to India'
The Maldivian Foreign Minister further told ANI that discussions with his Indian counterpart also included President Mohamed Muizzu's visit to India, which could happen "very soon'. He also made it amply clear that there is no military pact with China and that "peace and security" of the Indian Ocean is important for countries in the neighbourhood including India.
Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, had set May 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from his country. After assuming charge he maintained that he would keep his election promise of evicting Indian military personnel. He has previously accused India of meddling in the affairs of the Maldives, despite it being India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Indian military personnel fully withdraws from Maldives
Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the presidential spokesperson of the Maldives have confirmed that India has fully withdrawn all its soldiers from the archipelago nation ahead of the May 10 deadline set by Muizzu. The last batch of Indian soldiers stationed in the Maldives have been repatriated, confirmed Heena Waleed, President's Office Chief Spokesperson told local media.
"Now, what I can confirm to you is that the deputation of the competent Indian technical personnel has taken place. As these platforms provide medivac services to the people of Maldives," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday. The Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to operate and maintain two helicopters and Dornier aircraft India gifted earlier.
Repatriation of some 90 Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives was a key pledge of Muizzu during his presidential campaign last year. India and the Maldives had agreed to withdraw the remaining Indian troops before May 10.
"I think Maldives-India defence relations go beyond military personnel. And now, those platforms which have been handled by the military personnel will be handled by civilians. We have had a joint exercise with the Maldivian military, Indian military and Sri Lanka, I think Bangladesh is an observer and we will continue to have these exercises," Zameer said.
(with inputs from ANI)
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