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BIG STORY JANUARY 19, 2024 | The Indian Eye 6

shadweep, Chinese President Xi Jin- Notably, Mohamed Muizzu won
ping hosted a state banquet for Mal- the presidential elections in Maldives
divian President Mohamed Muizzu last year. He defeated incumbent
and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed on President Ibrahim Solih with 54 per
Wednesday. cent votes. This was the second round
Muizzu, who is on a state visit to of polling after no one emerged clear
China at the invitation of President winner in the first round.
Xi Jinping, also signed key agree- The report highlighted that the
ments with the Chinese government campaign was based on the “fears of
and held official talks to enhance Indian influences and anxiety regard-
collaboration between the two coun- ing the presence of Indian military
tries, the Maldivian President Office personnel inside the country”. The
said in an official press statement. observers also found instances of “de-
Further, according to the release, rogatory language”, directed towards
President Muizzu also held several then-president Ibrahim Solih.
meetings with Chinese officials to It also alleged that the campaign
explore avenues to strengthen socio- was subject to multiple ‘online disin-
economic connections and bilateral formation attempts’ as the PPM cam-
relations between the two countries. paigned demanding the release of
Significantly, this is the first state visit former President Abdullah Yameen,
of the newly-elected Maldivian Presi- who is in jail on corruption charges.
dent since assuming office in Novem- “EU EOM observers noted in-
ber last year. He is being accompa- stances of derogatory language, di-
nied by a high-level delegation. rected towards the president, on the
During his ongoing visit, the Mal- side of PPM-PNC. Their campaign
divian President and Republic of Chi- Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu included anti-Indian sentiments,
na exchanged twenty key agreements. based on fears of Indian influences
During the signing of agreements, he in Dubai in December (ANI) and anxiety regarding the presence of
attended the ceremony at the Great Indian military personnel inside the
Hall of People in Beijing. registered a strong protest. divian government distanced itself country,” the report stated.
China and the Maldives signed Meanwhile, with #Boycott- from the remarks made by its minis- Amid the ongoing row between
twenty MoUs, including on Disaster Maldives catching on with netizens, ters. Maldivian Minister for Foreign India and the Maldives, opposition
Risk Reduction, Fisheries, Digital prominent faces of the Indian film Affairs, Moosa Zameer, said such leader and the Chairperson of the
Economy, Cooperation Plan on BRI, industry and other leading celebri- remarks against foreign leaders were Maldivian Democratic Party, Fayyaz
and Grant Assistance, among others. ties came out in support of PM Mo- “unacceptable” and did not reflect the Ismail, has called for a “tougher
According to an official release, di’s call to promote beach tourism in official position of the government. stand” by the government, saying that
a Memorandum of Understanding Lakshadweep and other tourist desti- Meanwhile, it has been revealed the racist comments against India and
(MoU) was signed between the Na- nations in the country. that the Progressive Party of Mal- Prime Minister Narendra Modi were
tional Disaster Management Author- Several Maldivian politicians, in- dives (PPM) and People’s National just isolated individual opinions of
ity of Maldives and the Ministry of cluding former Presidents and minis- Congress (PNC) -- the two main par- these people who were unfortunately
Emergency Management of China ters, too, condemned the remarks and ties in the ruling coalition in Maldives given positions in the government.
on cooperation in the Area of Disas- reiterated that India was a close and -- used ‘anti-India’ sentiments during He underlined how the entire
ter Risk Reduction. important partner for the island nation. the campaigning for the 2023 pres- matter has reached a lot of Indians
Additionally, a MoU was signed But, in the face of online fury and idential polls, according a report by as well as Maldivians, due to easy ac-
on Deepening Blue Economy Co- a flurry of cancellations of scheduled European Union Election Observa- cessibility of social media. On being
operation between the Ministry of visits to the island country, the Mal- tion Mission, Maldives (EU EOM). asked if the ongoing spat between
Commerce of the People’s Republic the two countries is going to have an
of China and the Ministry of Fisher- impact on the India-Maldives ties, as
ies and Ocean Resources of the Re- well the revenue that Indian tourists
public of the Maldives, read the press have generated for the island nation
statement. over the years, the Maldivian leader,
President Muizzu’s maiden state who was also the former Minister of
visit to China, as opposed to India, Economic Development of Maldives,
came in the backdrop of a social me- asserted that it is much more than
dia uproar and diplomatic row over economics or revenue.
disparaging remarks made by some “This relationship between India
Maldivian junior ministers and gov- and Maldives has been nurtured and
ernment officials against PM Modi’s fostered over a long period of time by
Lakshadweep visit. very mature leaders, past leaders of our
Earlier, President Muizzu had country and yours as well. So just one
asked India to withdraw its troops or two tweets derailing this entire rela-
from Maldives. The Indian Army has tionship is very sad,” the minister said.
been stationed in Maldives for years. Notwithstanding such positive
The two armies also conducted a remarks, the India-Maldives relations
joint military exercise too. are at the rock-bottom right now.
Now, taking a strong exception A Gurukul School of Art teacher makes a painting condemning Maldives over derogatory There are no signs of any improve-
to the unsavory remarks, New Delhi remark against Prime Minister Modi in Mumbai (ANI) ment as China plays a crucial role in
summoned the Maldivian envoy and the Indian Ocean region.

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