INDIA-MALDIVES TIES (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - IR)

Context: Recently, President Mohamed Muizzu's government, known for its 'India Out' campaign, opted not to renew the hydrographic survey agreement with India, merely a month after calling for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the Maldives.

India Maldives Relations

• Economic: Trade agreement signed between India and Maldives in 1981. India is Maldives' 4th largest trade partner.

oIndia becomes Maldives' second-largest trading partner in 2021, experiencing a 31% growth in bilateral trade despite the pandemic.

• Defence: India offers the highest number of training opportunities for the Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF), fulfilling approximately 70% of their defence training needs.
• Developmental Cooperation: India implements notable development projects in the Maldives, such as the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Maldives Institute of Technical Education, and the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE).

India Out Campaign

• ‘India Out’ campaign started around 2020 with some on-ground protests in the Maldives and later spread widely across social media platforms using the phrase with a related hashtag. 
• It was alleged that New Delhi has sent a large military contingent to the Maldives, a claim that the Solih government repeatedly denied.