The development comes a few days after Muizzu’s visit to China.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has given a deadline to India to withdraw its troops from the island nation. The Maldivian President said the Indian military personnel should leave the nation by March 15. The development comes a few days after Mohamed Muizzu met Xi Jinping on his first state visit to China after being elected.
Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the public policy secretary at the President’s Office, said, “Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration.” According to reports, around 88 Indian troops are present in Maldives.
The Maldives President’s deadline comes almost two months after he called for a withdrawal of Indian troops and said the nation “has to ensure that there is no presence of a foreign military on their soil”. The current Maldivian President came to power with his “India Out” campaign and is considered close to China.
Maldives and India have set up a high-level core group to negotiate the withdrawal of troops. The group held its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry Headquarters in Male’ on Sunday morning. Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahawar also attended the meeting, the report said.
Nazim confirmed the meeting and said the agenda for the meeting was the request to withdraw troops by March 15. The Indian government did not immediately confirm or comment on the media report.
The withdrawal of the Indian troops from Maldives was a key election promise of Muizzu. It recently upgraded ties with China after a diplomatic row between India and Maldives erupted after Maldivian ministers made derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi post his visit to Lakshadweep islands.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju visited the Maldives in November and met the current President. Sources in the Indian Government told NDTV earlier that the two sides agreed to a “workable solution” to continue the use of Indian military platforms by the island nation as they serve the interests of its people.
These personnel operate India-sponsored radars and surveillance aircraft. Indian warships in the region help patrol the country’s exclusive economic zone.
President Dr Muizzu earlier acknowledged the significant role of two Indian helicopters, the Dhruv, in numerous emergency medical evacuations. This small group of Indian soldiers have been stationed in the Maldives for several years now.
Earlier, the Ministry of External Affairs had said India’s cooperation with Maldives is based on jointly addressing shared challenges and priorities.
India’s assistance and platforms have contributed significantly to public welfare, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and in combating illegal maritime activities in the island nation, the ministry said.
