Maldives Crisis

While this is his first official state visit to New Delhi, it marks Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu's second visit to India, following his attendance at PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony in June

Concerns that cash-strapped Maldives could become 1st country to default on Islamic sovereign debt had pushed bond - its only listed international fixed-income instrument - to a record low last month

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has accused the opposition of attempting to stage a "financial coup" and said all those behind the plot to topple his government would be brought to justice, media reports said on Tuesday. On Sunday, the Bank of Maldives (BML) suspended foreign transactions for existing debit cards, as well as new debit and credit cards linked to MVR accounts. It also lowered the monthly standard and gold credit card limit to USD 100. However, it reversed the decision within hours, saying it was based on instructions from its regulator, the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), The Edition news portal reported. Speaking at a party hub meeting of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) on Monday night, President Muizzu said that he had worked to find a resolution for the Bank issue alongside his ministers as soon as he had become aware of the situation. He asserted that the bank's decision had been against his advice, the portal reported. Muizzu said that many had

The move comes after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, insisted on the withdrawal of Indian military personnel by May 10

Nationalism, coupled with cheaper alternatives and ease of visa access to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, is driving Indian tourism away from the Maldives

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on Saturday said India's gesture to renew the quota to allow the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for his nation signifies the longstanding bilateral friendship and the commitment to further expand trade and commerce. India allowed the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 at the request of the Maldives government, the Indian High Commission said here on Friday. Announcing the move through a post on social media platform X, the Indian High Commissioner said that this was being done under a unique bilateral mechanism under which the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards. The approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981, the notice by the mission said. Zameer took to X to thank India for the move. "I sincerely thank EAM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for the renewal of the quota to enable #Maldives to import essentia

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The Maldives said that both sides reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation to improve and enhance the partnership in the fields of defence and security cooperation, etc.

It is the first session of Parliament this year. The presidential statement will be made on Monday at 9 a.m. by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, according to Mihaaru

Hussain Shameem, appointed by the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was rushed to the Maldives's ADK Hospital and is currently receiving treatment

India on Thursday said it remains committed to take forward its development agenda with the Maldives including implementation of various welfare projects in the island nation. The comments by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal came amid strain in ties between the two countries following Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's call for withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country by March 15. "We remain committed to our projects and to take them forward. We have been an important development partner of the Maldives," he said at his weekly media briefing while replying to a question. "We remain committed to doing all things that we can do as a development partner of the Maldives," Jaiswal added. On Male insisting on withdrawal of Indian troops, he suggested that the matter will be deliberated upon at the second meeting of India-Maldives core group. The next core group meeting is set to take place in New Delhi early next month. The issue of the Indian ...

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has asked India to withdraw its military personnel from his country by March 15, a senior official here said on Sunday, nearly two months after Male sought their removal. According to the latest government figures, there are 88 Indian military personnel in the Maldives. In a press briefing, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President's Office, said that President Muizzu has formally asked India to withdraw its military personnel by March 15, the SunOnline newspaper reported. Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration, he said. Maldives and India have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of troops. The group held its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male' on Sunday morning. The meeting was also attended by Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar, the report said. Nazim confirmed the meeting

The Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) has strongly condemned derogatory remarks made by officials in the tourism-dependent country

Amid an ongoing diplomatic row with the Maldives, Syed Tanveer Nasreen, the former director of the Indian Cultural Centre in the island nation, has underscored that the prevailing situation is not isolated but a manifestation of a prolonged anti-India sentiment, fostered by foreign powers. Nasreen, who served as the director of the Indian Cultural Centre at the High Commission of India in Male, Republic of Maldives, from 2019 to 2023, shared insights into the growing influence of China and Pakistan in countering India's soft power. In an interview with PTI, she lamented the ongoing diplomatic row as "unfortunate" and cautioned against reactionary sentiments such as the "Boycott Maldives" movement, viewing them as potential fuel for the "India Out" campaign and undue importance of the now-suspended Maldivian ministers' remarks on social media, targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "What has been going on is very unfortunate, and I condemn the remarks made by the now-deposed three .

The Maldives government has suspended three deputy ministers for making disparaging remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Maldives, with a population of 550,000 people dispersed across 185 islands, has become a popular tourist hub in the last five decades and today attracts about 25% of its GDP directly from tourism

In a post that has now been deleted, the Maldivian Deputy Minister of Youth Empowerment, Mariyam Shiuna, made a mocking and disrespectful reference to PM Modi

In a post shared on X, Zameer stated, "The recent remarks against foreign leaders and our close neighbours are unacceptable and do not reflect the official position of the Government of Maldives"

Less than 24 hours after taking oath as the President of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday formally requested the Government of India to "withdraw" its military personnel from his country, saying the Maldivian people have given a "strong mandate" to make this request to New Delhi. Muizzu's request came when India's Union Minister Kiren Rejiju paid a courtesy call on the new president at the latter's office, the Maldivian President's Office said in a press release. The exact number of Indian military personnel in the Maldives is not known. Engineer-turned-politician, Muizzu, 45, took oath on Friday as the eighth president of the strategically-located archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Underscoring India's Neighbourhood First Policy', Rijiju represented the country at Muizzu's inauguration ceremony. A close associate of former Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, who forged close ties with China during his Presidency from 2013 to 2018, Muizzu defeated India-friendly incumbent .