Maldives says India should withdraw its army by March

Tensions between the neighbors escalated last month when three of Muizzu’s junior ministers reportedly called Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “clown” and a “terrorist” in since-deleted social media posts. In another development, Maldives’ Defense Ministry accused India’s Coast Guard of entering its exclusive economic zone and harassing fishermen in three Maldivian trawlers. The Defense […]

India-Maldives bilateral relations discussed at NAM summit in Kampala

The 19th NAM Summit, led by Uganda, is being held under the theme ‘Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Prosperity’ and brings together over 120 developing countries on a platform of significant historical importance. India wholeheartedly supports Uganda’s theme for NAM and looks forward to engaging with NAM countries. The External Affairs Ministry release said that […]

China-Maldives infrastructure deals: geopolitical upgrades and strategic ties

Muizzu this week embarked on his first state visit to China – the Maldives’ biggest external creditor – and on Thursday, the two sides issued a joint communiqué detailing the “broad consensus” reached by their two leaders. The statement published on state broadcaster CCTV said China vowed to “continue to provide assistance within its capacity […]

Muizzu takes oath as President of Maldives, pledges to remove Indian troops. Breaking News

“We are going to work together with all countries, India, China and all other countries,” he told AFP. Muizzu said he hoped to initiate talks with New Delhi on the return of Indian personnel deployed to operate the three aircraft gifted to Maldives. India traditionally considers the Maldives, a country of about 380,000 Sunni Muslims, […]

Elections in Nepal, Maldives, Bangladesh: A guide to recent elections in South Asia

The purpose of giving a brief description of the recently held or soon to be held elections in South Asian countries is that we too are going to see an election soon. Before every general election in Bangladesh, one of the most populous countries in South Asia, the country’s political dominance heats up over so-called […]

Pro-China candidate wins Maldives presidency

The Maldives occupies a strategically important position on one of the world’s busiest east-west shipping lanes in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Muizzu’s mentor, former President Abdullah Yameen, borrowed heavily from China for construction projects and spurned India. Solih was elected in 2018 out of dissatisfaction with Yameen’s increasingly autocratic rule, accusing him of […]

Maldives presidential election: Solih seeks second term, faces Muizzu

Maldivian leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was trailing in Saturday’s presidential election, preliminary results showed, setting the stage for a snap election later this month. Solih’s bid for a second term has turned into a referendum on his pursuit of new ties with India, the archipelagic nation’s traditional benefactor. Preliminary results show Solih in second place […]