The new President of Maldives, Mohammed Waheed Hassan is scheduled to visit India this weekend to discuss key bilateral issues with the Indian leadership. He is also set to deliberate on defence co-operation between the two nations. Waheed will be accompanied by Maldivian Minister of State for External Affairs, and daughter of the former President of Maldives, Dhunya Maumoon.
This will be Waheed’s first official meeting with the Indian government as the President of Maldives and is scheduled less than a month after former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed met with the Indian leadership.
Waheed, who assumed the Presidency of Maldives after an extraordinary turn of events early this year will arrive in New Delhi on May 11 and is slated to stay in India till May 15. He will meet President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Saturday. Waheed is then scheduled to engage with business leaders in Mumbai on Monday.
During the trip he is expected to brief the Indian leadership on the progress of the roadmap agreed between political parties in Maldives.