In a press statement, the Maldives foreign ministry said discussions were held on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including development cooperation, and both sides expressed willingness to intensify cooperation and agreed to “fast-track” withdrawal of Indian military personnel.
Delhi mum on any decision on Male’s troop withdrawal call
One of the tasks that the core group, which is likely to expedite work on Indian development projects, was assigned is to find a mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian “aviation platforms” that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives. The Indian side confirmed in a statement that there was a discussion on the issue in the talks on Sunday but it was silent on whether it had agreed to recall, as claimed by Male, its military personnel.
According to officials in Male, there have been 12 rounds of meeting on the troop issue.
Muizzu, however, has maintained that India will have to withdraw its troops and, in an interview to TOI earlier this month, had said India not doing so will mean disregarding the will of the Maldivian people and putting in peril democracy in the island nation. The president, in fact, after his meeting with Modi, had said India had agreed to withdraw its forces from Maldives.
The announcement of the March 15 deadline by a Muizzu aide came days after his return from China, his first state visit to any country as president of Maldives.
Muizzu had told TOI in the interview that India will continue to play a key role in supporting Maldives in building the operational readiness of the Maldives National Defence Force. However, his insistence on removal of Indian forces, coupled with his decision to not renew an agreement with the Indian Navy for hydrographic surveys, seems to suggest his government wants to restrict defence cooperation.
In an apparent dig at India, Muizzu said on Saturday that Maldives may be small but it can’t be bullied and that the Indian Ocean country was an independent and sovereign State and not “anyone’s backyard”.
Watch Maldives president Mohamed Muizzu to India: ‘Withdraw troops by March 15’