Maldives President Muizzu accorded ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan

New Delhi, Oct 7 (IANS) Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu received a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. 

Following his ceremonial welcome, Muizzu headed to Raj Ghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Following this, he will be holding bilateral discussions with PM Modi at the Hyderabad House.

The Maldives President is on his official five-day maiden visit to India, the first since he assumed office, at the invitation of President Murmu. Earlier on Sunday, Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh received Muizzu as he arrived at the Delhi airport, along with a high-level delegation.

External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar called on Mohamed Muizzu, shortly after the Maldives President arrived in the national capital on Sunday.

"Pleased to call on President Mohamed Muizzu today at the start of his State Visit to India. Appreciate his commitment to enhance India-Maldives relationship. Confident that his talks with PM Narendra Modi tomorrow will give a new impetus to our friendly ties," posted EAM Jaishankar on X after his meeting with the Maldives President.

During the visit, he is scheduled to hold high-level meetings with President Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and other senior officials of the Indian government.

Accompanied by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed and a high-level delegation, the Maldives President will be visiting Agra on Tuesday.

"President Dr Muizzu remains committed to enhancing bilateral ties with nations that play a crucial role in the development and growth of the Maldives, ensuring a dynamic and proactive foreign policy for the nation... Discussions will focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and further enhancing the longstanding relationship between the two nations," Muizzu's office said in a statement on Friday.

He will also be visiting Mumbai and Bengaluru for business engagements.

Earlier this year, the Maldives President had attended the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi and the Council of Ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on June 9, 2024.

He had also met PM Modi on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai on December 1, 2023.

"The visit signifies the importance India attaches to its relations with Maldives. It is expected to lend further momentum to cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said last week.

In August, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar had visited Maldives on an official three-day visit, his first since assuming the office for a second term in June.

Before that, he had previously visited the strategically significant Indian Ocean archipelago in January 2023 as India maintained that Maldives occupies an important place in New Delhi's vision of 'Neighbourhood First' and 'SAGAR'.

Even as the relationship between the two countries became strained last year, India remained a key provider of development assistance to the island nation, with several projects funded by India benefitting the lives of thousands of people in the country.

--IANS

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