The Maldives, a small island nation located in South Asia, in the India Ocean, marks its 60th independence on July 26, 2025. With this, it completes 60 years of India-Maldives diplomatic relations.

The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi attended the celebrations as the guest of honor. He became the first state guest under President Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives.

A very warm welcome to His Excellency Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi to the Maldives.

Today Prime Minister and I held productive talks where we focused on carrying forward the Maldives-India development partnership in key areas of common interest and on providing all the… pic.twitter.com/ErAXo7gZzQ
— Dr Mohamed Muizzu (@MMuizzu) July 25, 2025

The '2023' Story

In year 2023, after PM Modi promoted Lakshadweep as an alternative tourism destination, Maldivian officials criticized the move. This was perceived as a targeted attempt to discourage Indian tourists from visiting an island. In retaliation, Indians called for a boycott of Maldives tourism considering India was the largest source of tourists to the Maldives.

The conflicts escalated between both the countries after Mohamed Muizzu, President of Maldives voiced his 'India Out' Campaign in November 2023. Just two months after the campaign, Muizzu made a visit to China to show reduced dependency on India.

Meanwhile, deputy ministers also made remarks on the suspension of Modi and India in Maldives. As tourism is the lifeblood of Maldives, the remarks caused sharp decline in Indian tourist arrivals that hit Maldives' economy hard.

Mid 2024 Diplomatic Reset

Despite the initial tensions between both countries, the economic realities lead to the warming of ties. It would be no escalation to say that Maldives is highly dependent on India. With every aspect; Economic or Humanitarian, Maldives stands on India's support.

Such realities led to the diplomatic reset. President Muizzu attended PM Modi's swearing-in ceremony in June 2024, signaling desire to mend relations. Thereafter, there had been subsequent visits by both Maldivian Foreign Minister and Defence Minister of India to address bilateral issues which helped in de-escalating tensions.

PM Modi's recent visit for Maldives Independence Day celebrations clearly signals the revamped bilateral ties. After this turnaround, there have come major announcements from India that will benefit Maldives. These are as follows-

new INR 4850 Crore Line of Credit for development projects
reduction in Maldives' annual debt repayment obligation on existing loans
Talks are around of Free Trade Agreement

President Muizzu and I inaugurated a new building of the Ministry of Defence in Malé. This is yet another instance of strong India-Maldives cooperation.@MMuizzu pic.twitter.com/k540iszTyM
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 25, 2025

Years longing India-Maldives Bilateral Relations

An Island nation in 1965, Maldives got the independence from British rule and India was among the first countries to recognize and establish diplomatic relations with it. In 1972, India established its mission at Malé (Capital of Maldives)

Timeline

Year	Milestones
1965	Diplomatic ties established
1972	Indian Mission in Malé launched
1978	Ties between both nations strengthened during President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's tenure
1988	Indian intervention to thwart a coup attempt
2018	India First Policy Adapted after Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's victory

An indication of how strong, deep rooted and extensive the India-Maldives friendship is! https://t.co/7EUuA0tkw6
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 25, 2025

India First Policy

Maldives prioritized India in its foreign policy due to shared security, economic, and historical interests. This included-

Not allowing Maldivian territory to be used against India's security
Relying on India for immediate crisis assistance
Preferring India for development aid, trade, and financial support
Consulting closely with India on regional matters

It is pertinent to note that at a time when there has been a humanitarian disaster be it Tsunami in 2004 or even during COVID, India has been the first responder to Maldives. The Maldivian government has set a target of attracting 3,00,000 Indian tourists in 2025 after their number went from the top place in 2023 to sixth in 2024 following strained relations between Male and New Delhi. "We are conducting it as a very big campaign. For the first time, we are targeting to hire a brand ambassador to advertise in the Indian mass media. We are also trying to hold cricket summer camps in Maldives," said.Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) chairman Abdulla Ghiyas.

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