MVR 1 Million Spent on State Visit to India, President’s Office Reveals

The President’s Office announced that over MVR 1 million was utilised from the state budget to cover the expenses of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s visit to India. 

The trip was undertaken to attend the inauguration ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his third consecutive term.

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The visit, spanning from June 9th to June 11th, included a delegation of 20 people accompanying President Muizzu. The delegation, comprising support staff, travelled to India via Dubai and Sri Lanka. The total expenditure incurred from the state budget for the trip amounted to MVR 1,440,170.33.

Muizzu attended the inauguration at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi, extended under India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. The President’s Office highlighted that discussions aimed at further enhancing the historical ties between India and the Maldives were the primary objective of this visit.

This visit took place amid heightened tensions between Malé and New Delhi, initially sparked by the ‘India Out’ campaign led by the then-opposition. The campaign, which included senior officials from the current administration, called for the removal of Indian military personnel based in the Maldives.

Relations further deteriorated following disparaging social media comments about Prime Minister Modi and India by three deputy ministers in the current administration. However, the tensions had somewhat dissipated after Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer’s visit to India in May.

During his visit, President Muizzu met with Prime Minister Modi, Indian President Droupadi Murmu, and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.