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By P.K.Balachandran
Colombo,November 16: Union Minister of Earth Sciences Kiren Rijiju will represent India at the oath-taking ceremony of the Maldivian President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Rijiju will be on a two-day official visit to the island nation from November 16 at the invitation of the President-elect.
The choice of Kiren Rijiju is significant in as much as he a member of parliament from Arunachal Pradesh, a State in North East India which China claims as “Southern Tibet”. And as a result of this claim, China issues “Stapled Visas” to Indians from Arunachal Pradesh. China also protests whenever India holds military exercises in Arunachal Pradesh.
By sending Rijiju as its representative at the Maldivian President’s inauguration, India is sending out a challenge to China as well as the new Maldivian government which is seen to be inclined towards China.
Under Dr. Muizzu’s senior, President Abdulla Yameen, the Maldives had swayed to China to the great displeasure of India. However, in 2018. the pro-India Ibrahim Solih came to power and restored the earlier good relations with India. But Solih could not last beyond one term and the pro-China Muizzu was voted to power in October this year. He is said to be under the influence of Yameen, who is still influential though he is in jail for high corruption.
China will be represented at the inauguration by Madame Shen Yiqin, former Communist Party chief of the southern Chinese province of Guizhou who was later appointed as one of the country’s five State Councillors, becoming the most senior woman official in the leadership.
The Maldives holds a significant position in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the “Neighbourhood First Policy,” thus making it India’s principal maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
According to the MEA, the “high level” of Ministerial representation from India at the inaugural ceremony underscores India’s commitment to further deepen substantive cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries.
India had received an invitation for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Maldives President-elect Mohamed Muizzu, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. But it decided to send Minister Rijuju instead.
Modi had congratulated Muizzu on his victory. “Congratulations and greetings to @MMuizzu on being elected as President of the Maldives. India remains committed to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship and enhancing our overall cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region,” PM Modi had posted on X (formerly Twitter).
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