Under a new defense cooperation agreement with the Maldives, China is set to offer free military assistance to the island nation. Coming soon after the presidential order to remove Indian naval personnel from the Maldives and after a so-called Chinese research vessel visited Malé, the agreement is no doubt a provocation to India. Whatever the … Read more
The small, remote Mauritian island of North Agalega, located in the southwest Indian Ocean 1,122 kilometers north of the main island of Mauritius, is currently seeing a frenzy of development activity. On February 29, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually inaugurated a jetty and an aviation strip on … Read more
President Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives recently concluded a state visit to China during which he met President Xi Jinping, signed several deals, and saw the China-Maldives relationship upgraded to the level of “comprehensive strategic cooperation.” While the outcomes that Muizzu flew across the Indian Ocean with following his state visit to China are fairly standard, … Read more
New Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu appeared to have a successful visit to China last week. Breaking the tradition of a new Maldivian president making his first trip to India, Muizzu went to Turkey for his first official visit, followed by the United Arab Emirates for the U.N. climate change meeting, COP28. On the sidelines, Muizzu … Read more
The already troubled India-Maldives relationship is under fresh strain following a spat over disparaging remarks made by Maldivian ministers about India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media. Although the Maldivian government under newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu was swift in distancing itself from the offensive remarks — its Foreign Ministry issued a statement … Read more
On December 1, following his first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai, Maldives’ newly elected President Mohamed Muizzu announced that India had agreed to withdraw troops from his country. Muizzu’s election campaign had focused on an “India Out” plank. A day after his electoral win … Read more
Advertisement The Maldives’ presidential election is set to take place on September 9. Currently, the election is shaping up to be a competitive race, pitting incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih against seven challengers: Mayor of Malé, Mohamed Muizzu, of the Progressive Alliance, consisting of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM); … Read more
Advertisement As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the United States this week, all eyes are on the India-U.S. relationship, particularly in the realms of defense and technology. But India-U.S. ties reached a milestone in another direction in May 2023, when the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce … Read more
Advertisement Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to Maldives this week to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation came at a critical juncture, with the island country planning to hold general elections in September 2023. Singh’s trip was preceded by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar’s visit in January, where he emphasized India and Maldives’ shared responsibility for … Read more