Stop being ‘stubborn’, seek dialogue with neighbours: Muizzu told amid strained India-Maldives ties

Days after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu urged India to provide debt relief measures to the archipelago nation, his predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said he must stop being “stubborn” and seek dialogue with neighbours to overcome the financial challenges.

“However, I am confident that our neighbours will help. We must stop being stubborn and seek dialogue. There are many parties that can help us. But he [Muizzu] doesn’t want to compromise. I feel they [the government] are starting to understand the situation only now,” Solih was quoted as saying by Adhadhu.com news portal.

Solih is learnt to have made these remarks after media reports that suggest Muizzu wants to talk to India for debt restructuring. He was speaking at an event in Male’ to rally support for the parliamentary candidates of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) contesting four constituencies in Maafannu.

The financial challenges are not a result of Indian loans, Solih added. Muizzu, 45, defeated Solih, 62, in the presidential election held in September last year.

Maldives has a debt of MVR 18 billion owed to China compared to MVR 8 billion owed to India, Solih said, adding that the repayment period is 25 years. The Maldives owed approximately $400.9 million to India by the end of last year.

The former president also said the government was deceiving the public and relaunching projects initiated by the MDP government. He said ministers are now lying to cover up those lies.

The advice for Muizzu, who is widely seen as a pro-China leader, comes in the wake of the hardline stand he pursued towards India till recently. He had demanded that Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms be repatriated from his country by May 10. The first batch of 26 Indian military personnel have reportedly already left the island nation and were replaced by civilians.

However, following the anti-India rhetoric, he struck a reconciliatory tone and requested for debt relief from New Delhi, saying India will continue to remain his country’s “closest ally.”

His new comments came ahead of the Parliament elections in the Maldives slated to be held on April 21.

Muizzu has constantly criticised India during and after the 2023 presidential election campaign. His party rode to power in November last year on an ‘India Out’ poll campaign and the relations between the two countries have remained tense since then.

— With PTI inputs

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