Ahead of his India visit for Modi swearing-in, Maldives Prez Muizzu says ties heading in positive direction

Ahead of his India visit for the oath-taking ceremony ofNarendra Modi for the thirdterm as prime minister, Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said that "Maldives-India relations is heading in thepositive direction".

The President was invited for the ceremony along with leaders of Mauritius, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal. This will be the first visit of Muizzuto Delhi since assuming charge last year.

Accepting the invitation that was personally handed over by Indian High Commissioner to Maldives Munu Mahawar, the "President expressed his gratitude to the Prime Minister for the invitation, adding that he would be honored to attend this historic event", a Maldives statement said.

The statement addedthat "he looks forward to working with the Prime Minister to further strengthen theclose relationswith India".

The Indian High commissioner presented the letter of invitation to the president during a courtesy call at the President's Office.

The president thanked the High Commissioner for personally delivering the invitation.

A bilateral meeting is also expected between the two leaders post the ceremony. This will be the secondsuch in-person meet between the twoleaders since the Dubai meet last year.

Uptick in ties was seen between the two countries in the last few weeks after a lull over new Maldives government's demand over removal of Indian troops over sovereignty issues.

The Indian troops were eventually replaced with civilian Indian personnel manning Indian assets for humanitarian purposes.

Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer had travelled to India in May, during which the key focus was debt relief from India.

New Delhi, meanwhile, has continued its development partnership with the Maldives.