Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Vice President Faisal Naseem. Prime Minister Modi was the highest-ranking leader who attended the ceremony.
In addition to Modi, 46 high-level dignitaries attended the function which includes Former Head of State of Sri Lanka Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Advisor to King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, -Son of the Crown Prince of UAE Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, in addition, special envoys of Presidents of China, Turkey, Morocco and Palestine were in attendance in the ceremony. Further, several ambassadors, senior government officials and business leaders from different countries attended the ceremony.
It was the first visit of Modi to Maldives and marks the beginning of a new chapter in Indo-Maldives relations. While Modi accepted the invitation to the ceremony, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, in his inaugural address, assured to works towards enhancing relations with India.
Following the ceremony, Prime Minister of India President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih met at the President’s Office and issued a joint press statement.
Until today’s visit, Maldives is the only SAARC country Modi has not visited since assuming office in 2014. He dropped Maldives from an Indian Ocean tour in March 2015 following the arrest and prosecution of former president Mohamed Nasheed.