India to engage with Maldives’ Prez-elect Muizzu

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, October 19: Even while Maldivian President elect Mohammed Muizzu has vowed that evicting Indian troops from the archipelago nation would be his top priority, India on Thursday said that “we look forward with the incoming administration” in Male.

Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi on Thursday counted the humanitarian assistance provided to Maldives in recent years while underlining that India has been the first responder to crises in the archipelago nation. Muizzu will be taking oath of office on November 17 this year. He had led an “India out” campaign in the run up to the national election.

Muizzu has been reiterating after winning the election that his top priority would be to evict the Indian troops. Incidentally, the Indian officials maintain that the troops in Maldives are stationed for the purpose to respond to disaster management.

“India has been a first responder to crisis in Maldives as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak. Also, India has been working closely with Maldives for the maritime security. Besides, India has carried out scores of missions to provide humanitarian assistance to Maldives,” Bagchi told reporters on Thursday while responding to queries on Muizzu’s threat to evict the Indian troops.

Muizzu on the lines of his mentor Abdullah Yameen is known to be close to China. He has also been quoted by the local media that Maldives will join Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which has been alleged in several quarters of trapping almost 60 countries in debt trap across continents.

While Maldivian politics appears to have a revolving door for pro-India and pro-China change of government, New Delhi has been hugely invested in Male, building assets of the common goods for the local people, besides enhancing the capacity of the administration by training them in Indian facilities. With Maldives being extremely vulnerable to natural disasters, India being the nearest neighbor has historically been the first responder in crisis.

But New Delhi may have to worry with Muizzu at the helm for China has been taking advantage of pliant leaders of nations in the Indian Ocean to set its spy ships cruising to keep a check on the Indian strategic assets.