NEW DELHI: After nearly nine months, the Maldives government has flip-flopped on its earlier anti-India stand. From announcing that Dornier aircraft (gifted by India) will now be used for medical evacuation to having roadshows titled 'Welcome India' to woo back Indian tourists, there has been a shift in its entire narrative.
This comes ahead of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to the archipelago next weekend.
"Jaishankar is likely to meet President Mohamad Muizzu (around 11th August). Besides, he will inspect three projects which are being undertaken with Indian support. These are the airport project in north Hanimaadhoo, an airport project in Gan and the Greater Male area bridge connectivity (the first phase of this is visible at Viliginli island)," said a source.
The Maldivian change of heart is primarily due to economic reasons. There is a reduced inflow of Indian tourists. Besides, India has deferred a $50 million loan. People in Maldives are concerned about Chinese investments and are also not sure whether they have pushed the repayment of loans by five years or merely replaced them with soft loans.
Meanwhile President Muizzu (on July 26th during their 59th Independence Day) credited India with helping in evacuation of foreign nationals while also stating that Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians from India.
It may be recalled that President Muizzu on the first day after being elected had said that he would send Indian troops marching out of Maldives. There were 88 Indian military personnel in the country, primarily manning two Dornier aircraft and one helicopter.
Interestingly, Maldives is now wooing Indian tourists – a far cry from the India out campaign. As of June, 63,451 Indian tourists have visited Maldives this year which is nearly 6.2 per cent of the total share. Social media users from India had earlier launched a 'boycott Maldives' campaign after some Maldivian MPs made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year.
The Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC/Visit Maldives) in collaboration with the Maldives Association of Travel Agents and Tour Operators and the National Hotels and Guesthouses Association of Maldives (NHGAM) is conducting roadshows in India titled 'Welcome India'. After Delhi, the roadshows have been scheduled in Mumbai and Bengaluru.
