Male: The foreign minister of the Maldives Moosa Zameer on Friday said India has emerged as the world’s largest and most diverse democracy that leads by example inspiring many countries, including his country.

Reflecting on the long-standing partnership between Maldives and India, which, he said, is “rooted in its people and strengthened through our active bilateral cooperation,” Zameer reiterated the firm commitment of President Dr Mohammad Muizzu’s government “to strengthen and deepen” the robust relationship between our two countries “for the mutual benefit of our people.”

The bilateral relations had recently seen a reset after the three-day visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, months of acrimony since pro-China Muizzu took oath last November.

Jaishankar visited the archipelagic nations earlier this month and met the country’s top leadership, including President Muizzu. Before that, Muizzu visited New Delhi for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s new government in June.

Earlier, within hours of his oath-taking, Muizzu had demanded India repatriate its military personnel from his country. After mutual negotiations, India withdrew its personnel by the agreed deadline of May 10 and replaced them with civilians.