India has agreed to pull out troops, says Maldives President

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, December 3

India has agreed to withdraw its troops from Maldives and a joint committee will work out the modalities in this regard, Maldives media quoted President Mohamed Muizzu as stating at a press conference in Male on Sunday.

Muizzu had recently met PM Narendra Modi on the sidelines of COP28 in Dubai. Although Muizzu had recently skipped India as his first overseas destination after becoming President.

In response, the Indian side indicated that this was not a closed chapter. India says talks on ships, planes deployed in Maldives are ongoing.

Acknowledging that the issue was briefly discussed between the two leaders in Dubai, the Indian side claimed Muizzu acknowledged the utility of “HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) platforms”. Talks between Modi and Muizzu “recognised’’ the continued usefulness of the Indian platforms, surveillance planes and patrol craft, and that the “issue needs to be looked at in a proper perspective”.

“Discussions on how to keep them operational are ongoing. The core group that both sides have agreed to set up will look at details of how to take this forward. The fact that it is an important segment of our bilateral development partnership is recognised by both sides,” said sources here.

On the campaign trail, Muizzu had made “freeing of Maldives of all foreign military personnel” one of his priorities during his first 100 days in the office.