In first bilateral visit after taking office in his second term, PM Modi is visiting Maldives today. PM Modi's visit is a continuation of India's 'neighbourhood first' policy. Maldives will honour PM Modi with the Order of Nishanizzuddeen.

NEW DELHI: In his first bilateral visit after taking office in his second term, Prime Minister

today. He had visited the country in November to attend President Ibrahim Solih's swearing-in ceremony, but it was not a full-fledged bilateral visit. In his first term, Modi had chosen Bhutan as the first foreign destination. The visit is seen as a continuation of the government's 'neighbourhood first' policy.

The Past

India has, for several years, invested heavily in Maldives, providing military aid, training and "capacity-building". In 1988, India foiled a coup in Male with its Operation Cactus wherein Indian troops flew in and rescued then Maldives President Gayoom. Maldives is just 1,200 km away from Indian mainland. The country, home to around 22,000 Indians, is of strategic importance. However, the country's last President Abdulla Yameen had courted investments from China borrowing millions of dollars for an infrastructure blitz since coming to power in 2013 and pushed his country into debt. The pro-China tilt of Maldives had worried India.

The Present

The current President, Ibrahim Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party, had taken an anti-China stance in the polls last year and his subsequent win came as a relief for India. Since then ties between the two countries have looked up. Solih chose India as his first foreign visit after taking office. In December, India had announced a $1.4 billion financial assistance to Maldives as it was weighed down by about $3 billion Chinese debt. Today, the two countries are likely to sign agreements in a range of areas including defence and security and connectivity projects and India may announce further financial assistance. The island nation has asked India to help it raise its national cricket team, which India has already started work on. Taking it a step further, India plans to build a cricket stadium there too.

Foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale said India is also looking to improve inter-island connectivity in the Maldives. "One of the projects we are looking at, the high impact community development project, is in fact island connectivity providing speedboats, particularly to students, to move from one island to another," he said.

During the visit, the PM will address the Maldivian Parliament, the Majlis, an indication of India's and Modi's important position in the neighbourhood. Before the address, the PM is expected to hold discussions with Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. "As a mark of respect for the PM, Maldives will honour him with the Order of Nishanizzuddeen at the President's Office," Abdulla Shahid, the foreign minister of Maldives, tweeted on Saturday.

Sri Lanka

The PM will visit Sri Lanka tomorrow to express solidarity with the country against the backdrop of the April 21 Easter bombings. Modi will be the first foreign leader to visit the country after the bombings. Like Maldives, the rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing for influence in the Indian Ocean, has also played out in Sri Lanka.

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