Maldives President Mohammad Muizzu has accepted an official invitation to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term in office. The swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend is expected to witness the presence of scores of leaders from neighboring countries including Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bhutan, Nepal, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
The Times of India has cited an official source saying that Muizzu will attend the swearing-in of the new government led by Narendra Modi.
The invitation to Muizzu to attend the swearing-in ceremony assumes significance as it came amid frosty ties between the two countries. The bilateral relations between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian president. Within hours of his oath, Muizzu had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. The Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians earlier this month.
Following this, the travel hotspot for Indians faced a backlash after three ministers from the Maldives cabinet made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep last week. Many netizens on social media claimed that they have canceled their scheduled trips to the Maldives because of the row with the hashtag “Boycott Maldives” trending. Joining the ‘boycott campaign’, EaseMyTrip, an online travel aggregator, said it has suspended all flight bookings to the island nation on its website “in solidarity” with India.
Following a diplomatic row between India and the Maldives, which led to calls for a boycott, Sri Lanka has become the preferred destination for most Indian tourists. As a result, Sri Lanka has seen a surge in tourist arrivals, surpassing the Maldives in January 2024 for the first time in four years. In January this year, Sri Lanka welcomed 208,253 tourists, compared to 192,385 in the Maldives. This represents a significant increase for Sri Lanka, which saw over 100,000 more tourists than in the same month last year. Historically, tourist numbers in Sri Lanka had lagged behind those of the Maldives, but the recent geopolitical tensions have shifted travel preferences. Reports indicate that the diplomatic tension has contributed to this trend, as Indian tourists opted for Sri Lanka over the Maldives. This shift marks a notable change in regional tourism dynamics, with Sri Lanka benefiting from the situation.
According to the Maldives Tourism Ministry statistics, over 17 lakh tourists visited the island nation in 2023, out of which more than 2,09,198 visitors were Indians followed by Russians (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118). The number of Indian visitors was more than 2.4 lakh in 2022 while over 2.11 lakh Indians flew to the Maldives in 2021. The Maldives was also one of the few countries open for international tourists during the pandemic and nearly 63,000 Indians visited that country during that period. In 2018, India was the fifth-largest source of tourist arrivals in the Maldives with 90,474 visitors. In 2019, India reached the second spot with 1.66 lakh Indians visiting that country.
Modi is likely to take oath on June 9th. Modi is all set to take charge as the prime minister for a historic third consecutive term with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) winning 293 seats in the Lok Sabha polls. The guest list of foreign leaders for Modi’s swearing-in ceremony was primarily guided by New Delhi’s “Neighborhood First Policy” and its strategic focus on island nations considered important in the Indian Ocean region, it is learnt.
