A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim (File | AFP) NEW DELHI: Foreign minister of Maldives Mohamed Asim on Wednesday morning arrived in India on a three-day visit. On Thursday, Asim will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj. He will leave on Friday. The Maldives foreign ministers’ visit to India is of […]
National flags of China and Maldives fly on Tiananmen Square to welcome Maldives President Abdulla Yameen in Beijing on Dec. 6. (Getty Images) COLOMBO – In mid-December, K.C. Singh, a former head of India’s external affairs ministry, criticized Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for alleged slackness in setting the parameters that shape the country’s ties […]
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on Sunday described neighbours India as Maldives’ closest ally appealing for restraint in criticism and asking to not engage in negativity towards India, especially in the media. Speaking after inaugurating a new harbour in Noonu Atoll Velidhoo island, president Yameen reiterated that his government would never entertain negative sentiments towards […]
A pro-Abdulla Yameen paper has kicked up a fresh political storm in the Maldives by describing in an editorial Indian PM Narendra Modi as a Hindu extremist who is also anti-Muslim. The editorial in the local Dhivehi language went on to describe India as the biggest enemy nation and said that a “new best friend” […]
Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Asim has hailed the strength of India-Maldives diplomatic ties, seeking to counter suggestions that the relationship is under strain due to growing Chinese influence. Relations with #India is time-tested and is based on people to people contact &cooperation in several sectors. We remain committed to further enhancing and strengthening existing ties […]
After upsetting news for the Indian foreign policy establishment from Sri Lanka (99-year-long lease of Hambantota port to China) and Nepal (China-leaning Left alliance poised to form government after winning elections), there is yet another blow to South Block (India’s power corridors) from its neighbour and SAARC member, Maldives. The Indian Ocean nation, comprising 1,192 […]
Maldives and China signed FTA last week. FTA was signed keeping India in dark. India has aired its unhappiness over the pact signed in stealth. Diplomatic script seems to have changed between India and Maldives in two years. Maldives had plunged into a severe water crisis exactly two years ago following a massive fire that […]
The Maldives are strategically located in the Indian Ocean and its value to an adversary of this country is obvious. India’s ties with the Maldives appear to be entering a renewed phase of uncertainty. Its ambassador Akhilesh Mishra has been treated indelicately. Three local government officials who called on him were suspended. The signal appears […]
BENGALURU: The eighth edition of Ekuverin, the fortnight-long Indo-Maldives joint military exercise, will begin in Belagavi on Friday. The previous edition of the annual bilateral exercise between the Indian Army and Maldives National Defence Force was held at Kadhdhoo, Laamu Atoll, the Maldives in December 2016. “Ekuverin means friends in Maldivian language, and the focus […]