From Trust To Tensions To Reset: How India-Maldives Ties Came Full Circle | Explained

Last Updated:July 25, 2025, 12:30 IST

PM Modi’s visit to Malé marks a pivotal moment in India-Maldives relations. From strategic drift and political strain to renewed cooperation, here’s how the reset took shape

PM Modi landed in Maldives on Friday (Credits: X/PM Modi)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has landed in Malé for a two-day state visit, where he will be the Guest of Honour at the Maldives’ 60th Independence Day celebrations, at the invitation of President Mohamed Muizzu.

The visit marks a pivotal moment in India-Maldives relations, one that reflects a recalibration after a period of strain marked by political rhetoric, military friction, and shifting geopolitical priorities.

The Maldives, an archipelagic state in the Indian Ocean comprising nearly 1,200 islands, holds strategic value for India due to its location along vital international sea lanes. It also plays a key role in India’s maritime security framework and regional outreach under the Neighbourhood First and MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) initiatives.

Just over a year ago, such a visit was almost unthinkable.

The Maldives had voted in a president on the back of a sharp “India Out” campaign, bilateral ties were at a historic low, and India’s strategic footprint in the Indian Ocean island chain looked threatened by growing Chinese influence. But behind the scenes, India worked with quiet patience and clear priorities.

The result is now on display: a recalibrated relationship rooted in realism, layered with economic cooperation, and shaped by mutual strategic understanding.

This is the story of how India-Maldives ties weathered turbulence and found a pragmatic reset.

The Early Years: A Relationship Built On Trust And Proximity

India and the Maldives have historically enjoyed deep-rooted ties built on geography, cultural closeness, and crisis-time cooperation. Just 70 nautical miles separate the southernmost Indian islands from northern Maldives, making the archipelago critical to India’s southern maritime defence. Over decades, India’s assistance has come in the form of medical missions, training, infrastructure, and emergency relief.

One of the most significant early interventions came in 1988, during Operation Cactus, when Indian troops flew into Malé within hours to foil a coup attempt, reinforcing New Delhi’s role as the Maldives’ security guarantor. More recently, during the Covid-19 pandemic, India provided vaccines and medical supplies as part of its Vaccine Maitri programme.

India is also one of the Maldives’ largest trading partners, a major source of tourists, and a key provider of concessional credit and development aid. It has funded dozens of High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs), ranging from health clinics and ferry terminals to housing units and digital infrastructure.

The Slide: How ‘India Out’ Became Official Policy

But the political landscape shifted sharply in 2023.

When Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November that year, he did so on the back of a populist and explicitly anti-India plank. His campaign’s rallying cry, “India Out”, targeted the presence of Indian defence personnel stationed to operate aircraft and radar platforms provided by India. Though deployed under bilateral defence cooperation agreements, these personnel were portrayed as symbols of excessive foreign influence.

The campaign struck a nationalist chord in Maldivian politics, especially among younger voters. Muizzu’s victory marked a break from the traditionally India-aligned Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), raising concerns in New Delhi about a tilt toward China.

Muizzu broke with precedent by visiting Turkey and China before India. In early interactions, he demanded the removal of Indian troops, publicly accused India of being a “bully,” and allowed derogatory remarks against PM Modi by Maldivian officials to go unchallenged. In January 2024, this hostility peaked when three ministers made disparaging personal attacks against PM Modi on social media, triggering a widespread Indian backlash and even calls to boycott Maldivian tourism.

China, meanwhile, seized the opportunity, extending loans, initiating new infrastructure ventures, and showcasing Muizzu in Beijing as a strategic ally.

The optics were grim, the rhetoric polarising, and the fallout, nearly terminal.

India’s Diplomatic Approach: Engagement Over Escalation

Despite the provocations, India opted for engagement over escalation. Rather than respond with counter-rhetoric or curtail ties, it took a long view of the relationship.

When Muizzu took office, India sent a Cabinet minister—not a junior delegate—to attend his swearing-in. PM Modi met Muizzu on the sidelines of COP28 in December 2023, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar followed up with a “frank conversation” at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit in January 2024.

India’s response was shaped by an understanding of Maldivian domestic compulsions. When Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, India agreed, but replaced the 76 defence staff with trained civilian technicians in May 2024, thus maintaining functional continuity in aviation and surveillance operations.

India also upped its economic engagement. It increased development assistance to Rs 600 crore, raised trade quotas, and accelerated work on key infrastructure, without any fanfare.

By May 2024, Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer was in New Delhi, seeking support and signalling readiness to restore ties.

The Reset: Economy, Development And A Vision Document

From that point, relations began to thaw.

In October 2024, President Muizzu visited India for a five-day state visit, during which both countries adopted the landmark “Vision for Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership.” The agreement set the tone for cooperation across seven sectors, from defence and development to digital and political exchange.

India followed this up with strong financial backing:

• Rolled over three Treasury Bills worth $150 million
• Offered a currency swap of $750 million
• Approved a new Rs 30 billion line of credit under the SAARC framework

Former President Mohamed Nasheed, a longtime India ally, said India’s support had helped the Maldives avoid a sovereign default. At the time, the Maldives’ debt-to-GDP ratio had exceeded 110 per cent, with foreign exchange reserves dangerously low.

The optics of the reset were powerful. India was stepping in not just as a neighbour, but as a stabilising partner.

Projects And Priorities: Quality Over Quantity

Under Muizzu, the focus shifted from announcing new projects to accelerating existing ones. While no new Indian projects were signed in 2024, many were expedited:

• The Hanimaadhoo International Airport, funded by India and executed by Kalpatharu Projects, is set to be operational by September 2025. It will feature a 2.7 km runway, a modern terminal, and facilities to handle 1.3 million passengers annually.
• The Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), India’s largest infrastructure initiative in the Maldives, remains on track for completion by late 2026.
• Other efforts, including the Addu Airport, housing initiatives, and ferry network expansions under the HICDP framework, have resumed after earlier delays.

To keep development on course, India and the Maldives institutionalised High-Level Core Group Meetings (HLCGMs). These have helped troubleshoot diplomatic irritants and monitor implementation, starting with the troop replacement agreement and now tasked with advancing the Vision document.

Strategic Anchors: Defence And The Indian Ocean

Despite earlier calls for troop withdrawal, the Muizzu government has continued security cooperation with India, albeit with revised optics. Indian aviation assets remain operational with technical crews. Defence training, platform support, and infrastructure projects are ongoing.

India also continues to assist in maritime surveillance, coastal radar deployment, and naval training, all part of its longer-term Indian Ocean security doctrine. In May 2025, the two nations conducted joint disaster relief drills, reinforcing shared regional responsibilities under the MAHASAGAR vision.

Given the Maldives’ strategic location along major sea lanes, its stability and alignment remain central to India’s maritime strategy. For Muizzu too, the benefits of cooperation appear clearer after a year of attempted diversification.

Beyond Politics

A noteworthy shift has been the de-hyphenation of domestic politics from foreign policy.

Historically, the MDP maintained closer ties with India, while Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) leaned toward China. But 2024–25 has seen a more pragmatic approach from the PNC.

During Muizzu’s India visit, he met BJP President JP Nadda to bolster party-to-party ties. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, meanwhile, met Maldivian opposition leaders, neither side politicised the interactions.

India’s approach has remained institution-focused. As long as democratic processes are respected and security redlines maintained, New Delhi has demonstrated readiness to work with any elected government.

Significance Of PM Modi’s Visit To Maldives

PM Modi’s visit now is symbolically and strategically loaded:

• He becomes the first Indian PM to visit the Maldives under a non-MDP administration.
• The visit coincides with 60 years of India–Maldives diplomatic ties, established in 1965.
• Modi is being hosted as the Guest of Honour at the Maldives’ most important national event, highlighting the personal and political weight both sides attach to the partnership.

For Modi, the visit reaffirms India’s leadership in the Indian Ocean as a steady, generous, and reliable regional actor. For Muizzu, it marks a domestic political win—showcasing sovereignty, but also the ability to engage productively with India.

Regional Implications And Lessons

The trajectory of India-Maldives ties over the past 18 months offers a clear illustration of how regional diplomacy in South Asia is shaped by domestic politics, but ultimately guided by strategic priorities. While anti-India rhetoric may yield short-term electoral gains, the demands of governance often require course correction.

India’s response, marked by strategic patience, development financing, and restrained diplomacy, helped prevent a rupture and brought the relationship back from the brink.

As Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri put it, “There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship, including attention at the highest levels… We’ve continued to work at it, and I think the result is there for you to see.”

That result is now on display in Malé: a diplomatic relationship once under pressure, now back on a path of mutual respect, strategic alignment, and renewed momentum.

About the Author

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar…Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar… Read More

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First Published:

July 25, 2025, 12:20 IST