International: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, on Monday, made a desperate call to Indian tourists to visit Male-- marking the first such statement by him after two of his ministers triggered a controversy following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Lakshadweep.  The major geopolitical shift came at a time when the -archipelago nation has been facing a massive economic crisis.

"Many Maldivians travel to India for tourism, medical purposes, education and many other needs. At the same time, the Maldives forces have a large number of Indians who contribute to the development of the Maldives. India is one of our largest tourism source markets and we hope to welcome more Indian tourists to the Maldives," President Muizzu said during a joint press briefing with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Maldives seeks FTA with India 

Besides tourism, the Maldivian President, who is currently on a five-day visit to India, also hoped to start talks on a Free Trade Agreement. "We look forward to concluding a Free Trade Agreement with India which will enable us to harness our full economic potential. To increase Indian investments in both our tourism and various sectors of development.

Our people-to-people connection has long been the foundation of the relationship between India and Maldives," he added.

What happened?

At least three Maldivian deputy ministers made controversial remarks regarding India and Prime Minister Modi on social media. The trio mocked India's decision to expand tourism in Lakshadweep. This triggered huge outrage in India, where thousands of tourists cancelled their planned trips, resulting in massive losses to Maldives- a country heavily dependent on its tourism industry. Later, the Maldives Foreign Ministry distanced itself from their remarks, saying they did not represent the views of the Male government. 

Earlier last month, the two junior ministers-- Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna, who were suspended in January for derogatory comments against PM Modi - resigned from the government.

The resignation from the ministers came more than nine months after their suspension from the posts of Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Youth. Both the ministers have opted to keep their reason for resignation private, edition.mv reported .

Surprisingly, the resignations were announced on the same day the government announced that Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu would travel to India on an official visit "very soon". The announcement was made by Heena Waleed, the chief spokesperson at the President's Office.