New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Maldivian president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on November 17, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday.
The prime minister will also visit Singapore to take part in the 13th East Asia Summit and other meetings on November 14 and 15, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at a media briefing.
Modi had been extended the invitation in September, days after Solih, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party’s candidate, emerged victorious over strongman president Abdulla Yameen.
The president-elect had extended the invitation during a phone call by Modi, after Solih’s victory in the September 23 presidential elections. Solih had also accepted Modi’s invitation to visit India.
Maldives is the only SAARC country that Modi has not visited. His visit to the archipelago was cancelled in March 2015 due to the volatile political situation.
India’s ties with the Maldives came under strain after President Yameen declared Emergency in the country on February 5, following an order by the country’s Supreme Court to release a group of Opposition leaders, who had been convicted in widely criticised trials. India had criticised the Yameen government for the imposition of the Emergency and urged it to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The Emergency was lifted 45 days later.
In July, India expressed concern over announcement of the presidential election without allowing democratic institutions, including Parliament and the judiciary, to work in a free and transparent manner.
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