The responsibility of maintaining safety and security within a country’s borders lies with its security forces. It is soldiers who will take up arms and defend the country in the event of a foreign invasion. But reaching this point means the country fails at various levels. The same is true in the event of economic sanctions. It is a process. Reaching this point means a failure in foreign policy.
The foreign service is a crucial institution, one that weighs in on all decisions made by a country in the international arena. The moment when diplomacy fails is when waves of various hurdles and challenges crash into a country. When a country is forced to play defense.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration is currently marking exactly two years in office. This is an opportune occasion to assess the achievements the country has made in foreign diplomacy over the last two years, under the leadership of the second foreign minister in as many years.
Fallout from calling India a ‘bully’
Foreign service is an area that requires the utmost patience. It requires listening to and working together with people of various opinions and interests, and prioritizing peace and diplomacy in all decisions. A mere word of admonition against a country, guided by emotion and not logic, is enough to tarnish and shatter a reputation built through decades of painstaking effort.
The incumbent administration learned this the hard way in its very first year in office. It unleashed a wave of attack of words against India, which stood as Maldives’ closest ally for years. Sticking to the rhetoric they adopted back when they were in the opposition, three senior figures within the administration harassed the Indian prime minister. Things escalated when President Muizzu, instead of publicly condemning these remarks, declared that the Maldives will not be bullied.
“I believe this was the biggest blunder they made during the last two years. What was that? The damage that they did to relations that we protected and maintained for ages throughout different administration… It caused such major damage,” said a foreign diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
This was their biggest failure within the first year. One that caused a huge economic blow as arrivals from India, which had reigned as the top source for tourist arrivals to the Maldives, plummeted overnight. It strained bilateral relations, one that the Maldives is heavily reliant on. The Maldivian administration spent the rest of the year trying to placate India.
One basic truth that the administration learned in its first two years in office is that the Maldives cannot afford to give into emotion and go against another country. Especially not when the country in question is a close neighbor and bilateral partner.
And it was India which bailed out the Maldives in the end, offering to defer debt repayment as other lenders hesitated.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Maldives President Dr Mohamed Muizzu at Republic Square, Male' on July26,2025. (X Photo/Narendra Modi)
Less foreign aid, more trips to court investors
Large Maldivian delegations, led by President Muizzu himself, travelled across the world during the first year, attending UN summits, the COP summit and various other international gatherings, appealing for aid. Investment forums were held in multiple countries.
But the administration failed to secure even half of the MVR 1.5 billion in grants it expected to get during the first year. By the end of last year, the country secured MVR 660.6 million in grants – just 44 percent of its projection.
And with just one-and-a-half months left until the end of this year, the country has received just MVR 269.9 million in grants. This is 10 percent of the MVR 2.6 billion it was projected to receive.
The country’s diplomats have also failed to make any progress in talks to lower the tariff on Maldivian fish exports in Europe.
It’s possible that cost of the international trips made by Foreign Minister Dr. Abdulla Khaleel and other top government officials over the last two years in efforts to secure aid far exceeds the grant aid itself.
The country has nothing of note to show for its various investment forums and various appeals for aid.
This is a foreign policy failure. This shows a lack of faith in the country’s foreign policy.
Foreign Minister Dr. Abdulla Khaleel (R) with his predecessor, Moosa Zameer (L). (Photo/Foreign Ministry)
From Foreign Ministry to embassies overseas, political appointees everywhere
A senior official from the Foreign Ministry, who spoke to Sun on condition of anonymity, said the biggest challenge facing foreign service officers is that they are getting pushed out by political appointees.
With every government change, embassies overseas see an influx of political appointees, making them a bed of nepotism, favoritism and cronyism.
This leaves little room for foreign service officers, individuals who are educated and trained in the field, to get stationed overseas and gain the experiences that they need. It also means that those leading negotiations with foreign leaders aren’t those with expertise, but political figures who lack an understanding of foreign diplomacy.
This is a concerned shared by former home minister Umar Naseer. Embassies are wasting millions on employees they do not need.
According to information obtained by Sun under the Right to Information Act, the state spent MVR 21.66 million on operational costs for 21 diplomatic missions during the four months from October 2024 to January 2025. It also spent MVR 74.28 million on the payroll.
The numbers also showed a disparity between foreign service officers and political appointees. The 21 missions staffed total 126 employees; 78 political appointees and 48 foreign service officers.
The embassy in Kuala Lumpur alone had 19 political appointees and just two foreign service officers.
Is this high spending translating into results?
Beginning of year three: Time to take off the training wheels?
The administration has now entered its third year – close to the halfway mark in its five-year term. While the administration may have wasted two years on training wheels, figuring things out, it cannot afford to continue on this path any longer. It needs to make changes and show results.
One thing the administration needs to do is to downsize embassies. Cut political appointees. Replace them with people who know diplomacy. The foreign service is for those with actual knowledge of the field, from the minister to the most junior officer. Only those with expertise in diplomacy should be allowed to get involved in communications with foreign countries.
The second thing is to listen to and follow the advice of international financial institutions, and take measures to improve the system of governance. The country isn’t getting any more foreign aid until it is able to assure other countries it is not going bankrupt.
The administration also needs to drop any misconception that the path to survival lies in dropping to the lap of a specific country and pinning all hopes on it. The Maldives lies in a strategic location of both economic and geopolitical significance. The country must not fall trap to geopolitics and foster ties with all countries, whether India, China and the United States.
Foreign diplomacy is the biggest playing field when it comes to ensuring the peace and security of a country. It’s not a classroom, but an arena where important discussions and decisions take place – ones that have significant consequences for the future. Those who enter this field must be well-prepared. The county cannot afford another year on training wheels.