India said it was ready to do business with whoever was elected in Maldives.
Officials said frequent interaction with the entire Maldives political spectrum helped India keep communication channels with all three major contenders open. Maldives’ leaders made frequent visits to India and the reciprocal trips by officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, including Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh, to Male where they made it a point to interact with all political players.
“We will do business with all. We can’t avoid close cooperation with Maldives. India is on the right side of democracy,” observed an official.