NEW DELHI: Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju will represent India at the swearing-in of the new President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu on November 17.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be occupied with the Voice of Global South Summit, which is taking place on November 17.
"At the invitation of the President-elect of Maldives, Dr Mohamed Muizzu, Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju will visit Maldives from 16-18 November 2023 to represent India at the inaugural ceremony of the presidency," said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Muizzu, the pro-China president-elect of Maldives, defeated incumbent president Ibrahim Solih on September 30, winning marginally by nearly 54 percent of the votes.
"Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’," the MEA said.
This high level ministerial representation from India at the inaugural ceremony underscores India’s commitment to further deepen the substantive cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries, MEA added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had attended President Solih’s swearing-in ceremony on November 17, 2018.
Solih and his party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), held a firm ‘India first’ policy and the election was considered to be a referendum on Maldives’ foreign policy orientation.