Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the Maldives for two days to participate in the nation’s 60th Independence Day celebrations, which were held at the Republic Square in Male. At the special invitation of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, PM Modi attended the celebrations as the guest of honour. After taking part in the ceremonial events, he departed for India, marking the conclusion of his diplomatic trip.
Upon his arrival on Friday, PM Modi received a ceremonial welcome that included a 21-gun salute. During the visit, both India and the Maldives engaged in high-level talks and signed several key Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to enhance cooperation in a range of sectors, such as infrastructure, fisheries, meteorology, and digital governance. These agreements reflected a shared commitment to deepening bilateral ties.
Expressing his gratitude at the end of the visit, PM Modi thanked President Muizzu, the Maldivian government, and its people for their hospitality. In a post shared on the social media platform X, he mentioned feeling honoured to have been part of the historic Independence Day celebrations. He also stated that the talks held with President Muizzu would significantly boost the strength and momentum of India-Maldives relations.
One of the major outcomes of the visit was the signing of a fresh Line of Credit (LoC) agreement, under which India will extend financial support amounting to ₹4,850 crore to the Maldives. Additionally, both countries agreed on modifying earlier loan arrangements to ease the Maldives' annual debt repayment burden, thereby offering the nation substantial financial relief.
The visit also witnessed agreements that aimed to foster long-term collaboration. These included a pact on fisheries and aquaculture development, enhanced cooperation between India’s Institute of Tropical Meteorology and the Maldives Meteorological Services, and sharing of scalable digital governance tools to accelerate digital transformation in the Maldives. Moreover, a landmark financial agreement was finalized between NPCI International Payments Limited and the Maldives Monetary Authority to introduce India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in the island nation, a move expected to greatly improve cross-border financial transactions.
