Male, July 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome and guard of honour at the Republic Square in Male on Friday as he began his official engagements during a two-day State Visit to the country.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu was also present on the occasion. Children performed dance to welcome PM Modi at the venue and the ceremonial welcome was followed by a meeting between the two leaders.
Earlier in the day, in a special gesture, President Muizzu welcomed PM Modi at the airport in Male as he arrived from the United Kingdom. Maldives Foreign Minister, Defence Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of Homeland Security were also present at the airport to welcome PM Modi.
PM Modi said that he is “deeply touched” by Muizzu’s gesture of coming to the airport to receive him. He expressed confidence that the ties between two nations will scale new heights of progress in the coming times. “Landed in Male. Deeply touched by the gesture of President Muizzu to come to the airport to welcome me. I am confident that India-Maldives friendship will scale new heights of progress in the times to come,” PM Modi posted on X.
PM Modi will participate in the country’s 60th Independence Day celebrations as the Guest of Honour on Saturday. This is his third visit to the Maldives and notably the first by any head of state or government since Muizzu assumed office.
Chants of ‘Vande Mataram‘ echoed as PM Modi also interacted with members of the Indian community who had gathered to welcome him. Prime Minister Modi met children and gave them autographs on the paintings made by them As part of the vibrant cultural reception, children also performed a traditional classical dance upon PM’s arrival at the Kurumba Village Resort.
After meeting PM Modi, a child said, “I painted this with the help of my mother. Honestly, I didn’t believe he would actually give his autograph. But when he signed it, it was such an overwhelming feeling! I was so excited, I just started dancing.” PM Modi shared glimpses of his interaction with Indian community members on X.
In a post on X, PM Modi wrote, “The Indian diaspora plays a crucial role in furthering friendship between India and the Maldives. Happy to have interacted with members of the diaspora and I thank them for the warm welcome.”
Earlier, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that PM Modi’s visit will not only contribute further to consolidating strong ties between the two nations but also enhance peace, prosperity and security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
“The relationship with the Maldives is comprehensive and multifaceted. It’s been paid attention to by leadership at the highest levels and we believe that this visit by the Prime Minister will contribute further to consolidating these strong ties and contribute to peace, prosperity and security in the Indian Ocean Region that both of us inhabit,” Foreign Secretary Misri stated during a special media briefing ahead of PM Modi’s two-nation visit.
The two leaders will also take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a ‘Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership’, adopted during the State Visit of the President of Maldives to India in October 2024.
“We have always been the first on hand to respond to the needs of Maldives in times whenever it has faced crisis, natural or man-made. There has been a robust, political relationship which has been bolstered by regular visits at high-levels,” said Misri.
“This joint vision, in a sense, has become the guiding framework for our ties. This year already, in the first six months, we have seen nearly half a dozen ministerial level visits from the Maldives. The speaker of the Maldives Parliament visited India. In fact, the very first engagement this year that the External Affairs Minister held was with the Foreign Minister of Maldives,” he added.
IANS