India-Maldives diplomatic row: Maldives President Muizzu waxes lyrical about China

Maldives' Parliamentary Minority leader Ali Azim has called for removal of President Mohamed Muizzu amid the ongoing diplomatic row with India. 

"We, d Democrats, r dedicated to upholding d stability of the nation's foreign policy n preventing d isolation of any neighboring country. R u willing to take all necessary steps to remove prez @MMuizzu from power? Is @MDPSecretariat prepared to initiate a vote of no confidence?" said Azim on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday attended the "Invest Maldives" forum in a southern Chinese port city where he courted the investors and batted for investment into the island nation. 

Amid the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Maldives, China has jumped in, with its state media seeking to play down Beijing's role in contributing to the worsening of ties between New Delhi and Male. 

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Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) on Tuesday (Jan 9) condemned the Maldivian ministers who made derogatory comments against Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It added that India had been a consistent and significant contributor to the tourism industry of the Maldives. 

On his second day of China trip, amid the ongoing diplomatic row with India, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu praised Beijing as a valued ally and integral collaborator of the Indian Ocean island nation. 

Chinese mouthpiece Global Times on Monday (Jan 8) carried an op-ed on the current developments between India and Maldives. It said the bilateral relations between China and the Maldives were "expected to reach new heights". 

Traders' body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has called upon domestic traders and exporters to refrain from conducting business dealings with Maldives. 

"CAIT encourages traders to stand united in sending a strong message against such behaviour by temporarily abstaining from trade engagements with the Maldives," said CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal. 

Indian online travel company EaseMyTrip's co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Nishant Pitti, standing in support of India, took to social media X and said, “In solidarity with our nation, @EaseMyTrip has suspended all Maldives flight bookings.”

The travel company, EaseMyTrip, went one step further and started a visit Lakshadweep campaign with the hashtag #ChaloLakshadweep. 

The Maldives has proposed a visit by its President, Mohamed Muizzu, to India later this month. President Muizzu, who assumed office in November of last year, has so far visited Turkey, the UAE, and China, since coming to power, marking a departure from the tradition of making India the first foreign destination for a newly-elected Maldivian president. 

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According to a WION exclusive news, the Maldives has proposed a visit by its President Mohamed Muizzu to India, later this month to mend the broken ties. Notably, the visit was proposed before the current diplomatic crisis erupted over derogatory remarks by the ministers of the Muizzu government.