New Delhi, 14 Jan: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has issued a deadline for India to evacuate its soldiers from the island country.
The Maldivian President stated that Indian military soldiers should leave the country by March 15. The development comes only a few days after Mohamed Muizzu met with President Xi Jinping during his first state visit to China since being elected.
Maldives has improved relations with China following a diplomatic spat between India and Maldives sparked by Maldivian politicians making disparaging remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to the Lakshadweep islands. The three ministers were fired, and the Maldivian opposition condemned the remarks, but the President said, “We may be small, but no one has the right to bully us.”
Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, the President’s Office’s public policy secretary, stated, “Indian military soldiers cannot remain in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and the current administration.” According to sources, around 88 Indian troops are currently in the Maldives.
The Maldives President’s ultimatum comes nearly two months after he asked for the removal of Indian forces and stated that the country must assure that there is no foreign military presence on its land.
The current Maldivian President rose to office with his India Out campaign. The departure of Indian soldiers from the Maldives was Muizzu’s primary electoral pledge. Maldives and India have formed a high-level core committee to negotiate the evacuation of troops.
On Sunday, the committee conducted its first meeting at the Foreign Ministry’s headquarters in Male.
