Muizzu’s outreach to India comes amid an economic downturn in his tiny country and the looming possibility of debt distress

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, on his first bilateral visit to India, has reassured that his country's 'Maldives First' policy will not impinge on its longstanding relationship with India. Addressing a press briefing at the Hyderabad House after his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,

India has stepped up its development assistance to the Maldives after the two leaders held talks in New Delhi in a bid to repair strained ties that saw the president of the Indian Ocean archipelago forging closer relations with China.