India-Maldives: Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer undertook his ongoing visit to New Delhi to “garner concessions” for his country from the Narendra Modi government by way of major debt relief on the various lines of credit (LoC) given by New Delhi to Malé, even as the archipelago nation has openly take a pro-China stance under President Mohamed Muizzu, ABPLIVE has learnt.
This is Zameer’s maiden visit to India since becoming the Foreign Minister of Maldives, and comes as India is thick in the middle of its Lok Sabha election.
During his visit, Zameer met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and the two held delegation-level talks.
According to diplomatic sources, the main focus of the discussion was debt-relief measures – Malé, they said, wants New Delhi to forgo some of the loans while it seeks to repay what it can in the future.
Maldivian President Muizzu had earlier talked about India offering hefty loans to the archipelago nation under previous governments there for infrastructure development.
The Indian Ocean island nation wants India to forgive some of the loans. It is believed to have told New Delhi that the Maldivian economy will not be in a position for the country to repay all the loans. Both sides, sources said, are now looking at “converting some of the lines of credit” given by India to Maldives into grants.
During the meeting Thursday, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said, “It is in our common interest that we reach an understanding on how best we take our relationship forward.” He added that Maldives remains a crucial partner for India as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy, as well as the SAGAR (Security and Growth For All in the Region) initiative, which seeks to boost cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
Debt Of Approx. $500 Million
So far, India has extended lines of credit to the tune of $2 billion to Maldives. The island nation owes India around $500 million. India is involved in creating massive connectivity projects in Maldives, including roads and bridges, as well as an international airport. This was done during the erstwhile Ibrahim Solih government that followed a pro-India policy.
If India forgives some of the loans by way of a ‘debt relief package’, the government will have to pay back the EXIM Bank, the nodal agency for disbursal of loans to partner countries.
Meanwhile, the Muizzu government has ensured that it compels India to withdraw all the 88 military personnel New Delhi had deployed in the island country for operating two choppers and a Dornier aircraft gifted to Maldives.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday confirmed that India has brought back “all” the military personnel who were posted there, and replaced them with a “competent technical team” to run the three aviation platforms.
India had stationed 88 military personnel in the Maldives to operate the platforms for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) that were gifted by New Delhi to the former administration there.
Under Muizzu, Maldives has displayed a clear tilt towards China, making the country a battlefield for strategic competition between New Delhi and Beijing.
Since Muizzu came to power last year on the back of an ‘India-Out’ campaign, Maldives and China have vowed to deepen their strategic ties, elevating them to the level of a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership’. This was decided during Muizzu’s weeklong visit to China in January 2024, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping. This was Muizzu’s first state visit after he assumed office on November 17, 2023.
