Ibrahim Shaheeb, the Maldives’ high commissioner, stated on Wednesday that all is good between India and the Maldives when he arrived in Parliament ahead of the Budget session. The statement came up during a diplomatic row between New Delhi and Male over Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. Following the row, political chaos erupted in the Maldives, with the opposition demanding that President Mohamed Muizzu apologises to India.
The envoy said, “All good,” when questioned about the current state of relations between India and the Maldives.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar talked about the India-Maldives relationship on Tuesday, saying that while every neighbourhood has its difficulties, neighbours eventually rely on one another. He said, “Every country has problems in its neighbourhood. It is never as good as they say it is. It is never as bad as they say it is. There will be problems. Our job is to anticipate, assess, respond. At the end of the day, neighbours have relationships with each other. At the end of the day, neighbours need each other. History and geography are very powerful forces. There is no escape from that.”
The India-Maldives relationship worsened as a result of Muizzu’s pro-China stance following the election. Muizzu requested that India withdraw its military personnel present on the island and he also visited China before India, breaking with tradition.