Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Monday said the first group of Indian military personnel will be sent back from the island nation before March 10, while the remaining Indian troops deployed at the two aviation platforms will be withdrawn by May 10.
Soon after taking oath as the President of Maldives on November 17, pro-China leader Mohamed Muizzu formally requested India to withdraw 88 military personnel from his country by March 15, saying the Maldivian people have given him a "strong mandate" to make this request to New Delhi.
On Monday, in his maiden address to Parliament, Muizzu said diplomatic discussions with other nations that the President can conduct are ongoing, adding that an official request has been made to India to remove troops stationed in the Maldives. Deliberations on this issue are ongoing, he said.
"As per the most recent discussions, military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms will be recalled before March 10, 2024. The military personnel on the remaining two platforms will also be recalled by May 10, 2024," Muizzu told Parliament.
Currently, Indian military personnel are in the Maldives primarily to operate two helicopters and an aircraft that have carried out hundreds of medical evacuations and humanitarian missions.
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After the latest round of bilateral talks, India said on February 2 that a "set of mutually workable solutions" was agreed upon with the Maldives for continuing the operations of Indian aviation platforms in the island nation.
The president said his administration would not do anything that could in any way compromise the nation's sovereignty.
Maldives President Muizzu asserted that he would remain steadfast and not give in to any external pressures under any circumstances if it posed a risk to the country's independence and sovereignty.
Muizzu, 45, leads the People's National Congress, a party that presided over an influx of Chinese loans when it last held power in the country, known for its luxury beach resorts and celebrity tourists. A massive diplomatic row
With the Muizzu-led government leaning towards China, Maldives' hostility of late has raised concerns around India’s national security as well, and the diplomatic row that Maldivian leaders' derogatory comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Lakshadweep visit sparked last month has only strained the ties between the two countries further.
