India's External Affairs Minister to arrive in Maldives on Friday for official visit

India’s Minister of External Affairs Dr. S. Jaishankar is due to arrive in the Maldives on Friday on an official visit.

In a statement on Thursday, Maldivian Foreign Ministry said Minister Jaishankar is undertaking the visit from August 9^th to August 11^th at the invitation of his Maldivian counterpart, Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer.

As per the Ministry, Minister Jaishankar, during this trip, will pay a courtesy call on President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

He will also hold official talks with his counterpart, Minister Zameer, to review the existing bilateral cooperation. Both ministers are also set to inaugurate the completed projects under the High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) and Line of Credit facility of EXIM Bank of India and witness the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding on areas for capacity building, commerce and trade.

This visit will mark Minister Jaishankar’s first to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June.

President Muizzu met with Minister Jaishankar back in June during his official visit to India to attend the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a second term. Commenting on the meeting, Jaishankar said productive discussions took place between the two.

Maldivian Foreign Minister Zameer has also undertaken an official visit to India prior to this. Currently, Maldivian Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal is in India, to promote Maldives as a tourist destination.

The strain in longstanding relations between Male’ and New Delhi appears to be thawing.

Relations between Male’ and New Delhi had grown strained after ‘India Out’ campaign calling for the removal of Indian troops in the Maldives, led by some senior officials of the incumbent Maldivian administration, back when they had been the opposition. Things escalated further after three Maldivian deputy ministers made disparaging remarks regarding India and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the social media platform X.

Officials from both Male’ and Delhi have expressed keenness to maintain relations between the two countries.