India welcomes Maldivian President at Modi’s swearing-in ceremony amid strained bilateral relations

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu is likely to attend the oath taking ceremony of Narendra Modi as he accepted the latter’s invitation.

Modi is set to take oath for a record third term on June 9. Several leaders of India’s neighboring nations will attend the ceremony, including  Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan. Bangladesh Prime minister Sheikh Hasina is one of the first dignitaries to have landed in the national capital.

Earlier, Muizzu had congratulated Modi on his win saying, he looks forward to working with India. “I look forward to working together to advance our shared interests in pursuit of shared prosperity and stability for our two countries,” he said in the post.

The Maldivian President expressed his gratitude to Modi for the invitation, adding that he would be honored to attend this historic event. 

Muizzu also said he wants to further strengthen the close relations with India, noting that Maldives-India relations is heading in the positive direction, as would be demonstrated by this visit.

Bilateral relations between the two nations have deteriorated since Muizzu assumed office in November last year who is widely seen as pro-China leader. He had also demanded a complete withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the island nation, just a day after he took charge.

In May, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed that all Indian armed forces left the island nation and were replaced by civilians. Indian military personnel were appointed in the archipelago nation for providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services, who have now been replaced by "competent Indian technical personnel".

This will be Muizzu’s first official visit to India since assuming office on Nov 17 last year. In May 2014, President Muizzu’s predecessor, Abdullah Yameen, had attended Modi’s first oath-taking ceremony.

The bilateral ties between the two nations are crucial as the maritime security of India majorly depends on Maldives, given its strategic location in the Indian Ocean. It is further important because of China’s expansion in the region and increasing influence on Maldives through its Belt and Road Initiative.