Muizzu agrees to set up Indian Consulate in Addu

On Monday, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu approved the establishment of an Indian consulate in Addu, the southernmost atoll in his nation, so reversing the opposition of his coalition that had driven India to postpone the proposal approved by the Union cabinet to the back-burner.

One of the elements of the people-to—-person ties sketched out in the vision document for a Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership adopted following the bilateral engagement here during Muizzu’s state visit was the opening of an Indian consulate in Addu City and a Maldivian one in Bengaluru.

Since he took office in Male in November after the presidential elections on a “India Out” campaign aiming to portray his predecessor Ibrahim Solih as pro-India, Muizzu has visited India twice. First visiting India for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in for the third time, he returned on a state visit carrying behind him the resentment his politics had caused into the bilateral relationship.

Having burned its fingers previously, India seems to be walking carefully this time around with the Addu consulate set up in mind. Foreign secretary Vikram Misri pointed to the vision document which said,”The two sides agreed to take measures to deepen these (historical bilateral) linkages and decided to work positively towards establishing a consulate of the Maldives in Bengaluru and a consulate of India in Addu City recognising that these would contribute to expansion of trade and economic cooperation and greater people-to–person contacts.” Ask about the plan to establish the consulate in Addu City at a media briefing on the visit.

Both leaders, Misri added, discussed the need for the Addu consulate. “The two teams will get in touch and move forward since this calls for a reasonable level of ground work,” he said.

Solih — confronted with a #SaveAddu movement — has gone on record declaring that the Maldives had not decided whether to build an Indian consulate in Addu when the Union cabinet approved the plan in the summer of 2021. Rekindling the “India Out” movement, the #SaveAddu campaign gained momentum to remove Solih two- and- a-half years later.

Given India’s heightened monitoring of the Indian Ocean, the #Save Addu movement questioned the need of an Indian consulate in Addu since not many Indians reside on the atoll or come to it as tourists. This resulted in suspicion of a security purpose.

Monday’s important choice also included the agreement on the currency swap wherein the Maldives would be able to use a separate ₹30-billion window and a $400-million window to strengthen the foreign exchange reserves of the atoll country.

“It gives the Maldives confidence in their current foreign currency posture and lets them engage in negotiations or agreements needing this extra foreign cash they can access. The intention is to provide assurance and comfort in the current Maldivian foreign exchange posture, Misri stated.

Furthermore, the foreign secretary claims that India would be fixing and refitting the Maldivian Coast Guard ship Huravee, which was donated to the Maldives some years ago. When asked whether Indian military troops will be deployed to Maldives to repair and refit the ship, he answered, “on gratis basis” India would do the refurbishment.

Regarding the potential of Indian military troops coming to the Maldives to man the aircraft platforms provided by India, Misri said that this is a subject settled to the satisfaction of both nations; revisiting the topic as of now is not under discussion. Muizzu’s first concern in government was to ask India to withdraw any Indian military forces from the archipelago, voted to power on the promise he would not let any in the Maldives. India replaced deadlines set by him with technical staff after talks.