PM Modi To Visit Maldives On First Foreign Tour In Second Term To Extend India’s Support To Democratic Reforms

With Prime Minister-elect Narendra Modi set to take oath for his second term of five years on 30 May, the Indian Ocean nation of Maldives is expected to be the first destination for his foreign visits in his new term, reports Hindustan Times.

The visit will be signalling India's unwavering support for the archipelago which has sustained a major democratic upheaval in recent times.

The Maldivian state broadcaster Public Service Media reported the country would be the destination for PM Modi's first overseas visit in the second term. Reports by several other media outlets in the Maldives said that the visit is expected to take place from 7-8 June, a development which has not been denied by the Maldives President's Office.

It should be noted that PM-elect Narendra Modi was the only head of state to be invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of incumbent President of the Maldivian nation in November 2018.

This would be Modi's first visit to the Maldives since taking office in 2014 after an earlier visit was called off due to suppression of opposition activists by the controversial and former president Abdulla Yameen.