India-Maldives Relations
India-Maldives ties have swung from a low to a high in barely two years, and by mid-2026 the economic track was moving fastest. President Mohamed Muizzu won Maldives' 2023 election partly on an 'India Out' plank and pushed to remove Indian military personnel, but a deepening foreign-exchange crisis and a cooling China bet forced a reset. Prime Minister Modi's July 2025 state visit - as guest of honour for the archipelago's 60th Independence Day - brought fresh credit, debt relief, a UPI rollout and the launch of free-trade talks; those talks cleared their first negotiating round in July 2026, with bilateral trade climbing past USD 771 million. It cements Maldives' place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' and Indian Ocean maritime-security calculus.
- India-Maldives
- Mohamed Muizzu
- India Out
- IMFTA
- currency swap
- Neighbourhood First
- MAHASAGAR
- Hulhumale
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