Maldives president holds 15-hour press conference, says nothing to worry about past pacts

Maldivian President Muizzu faces criticism for retracting claims about sovereignty-threatening agreements with India during 2023 election campaign.

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has said that there is nothing to worry about the agreements signed by the previous Government with other countries, drawing criticism from the opposition leader, who demanded his apology for making “false claims” during the 2023 election campaign regarding the pacts with nations like India.

At a marathon press conference at his Office on Saturday (May 3, 2025), Mr. Muizzu said he was working in line with his pledge to disclose the military agreements and blamed delays on confidentiality issues, adhadhu.com online news portal reported.

“Bilateral discussions are ongoing. There are no issues. However, we are trying to disclose through the bilateral discussions since I made a pledge. There are no concerns,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal.

Mr. Muizzu made the remarks at the press conference, which lasted for nearly 15 hours, PSM News reported, claiming it broke a previous record held by Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The president paused only briefly for prayer times.

Before coming to power, the People’s National Congress (PNC) led by Mr. Muizzu expressed concerns over the agreements signed with other countries, especially India, by the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Government.

Mr. Muizzu and his party’s senior leaders have previously said these agreements will affect the Maldives’ sovereignty.

Responding to Mr. Muizzu’s statement, former foreign minister and opposition MDP chief Abdulla Shahid criticised him, saying the people of the Maldives and India deserve an apology for his false claims over the pacts during the 2023 election campaign.