On 7 October 2024, India announced it was going to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support to the Maldives. In addition, the two countries said they had agreed to start talks on a free trade agreement.
The announcement was made during a five-day visit to India by the Maldives’ president Mohammed Muizzu.
Following his victory in the presidential election in the fall of 2023, Muizzu ended the Maldives’ status as a safe geopolitical position for India in the Indian Ocean, apparently intending to either balance between China and India, or potentially even bring the his country in China’s geopolitical camp.
Since then, the Maldives has suffered some serious financial problems, however, forcing Muizzu to ask India for help. With the announcement on 7 October, a transfer of the Maldives into the Chinese sphere of influence now seems less likely.
Efforts Category: India’s Economic, Diplomatic and Aid Inducement of Maldives
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