Maldives Demands India Withdraw Its Troops

The Republic of Maldives has requested India to withdraw its military personnel from the islands by March 15. This was reported by the Maldivian newspaper Sun Online, citing the assistant to the President for public policy, Abdulla Nazeem Ibrahim.

“Indian soldiers cannot remain in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Mohamed Muizzu and the current administration,” said Ibrahim. He noted that the President has officially asked India to withdraw the troops by March 15.

Ibrahim reminded that a high-level group has been established between the Maldives and New Delhi to discuss the withdrawal of troops. The first meeting of this group took place on Sunday, discussing the timeline for the withdrawal of Indian soldiers.

According to the publication, there are currently 88 Indian soldiers in the Maldives.

India and the Maldives have cooperated in the defense sector since 1988, when the Indian Army assisted President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in overcoming an attempted uprising by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam at his request. This collaboration, which included training, equipment and weapon transfers, and facility construction, enjoyed the support of all political figures in the Maldives until 2017-2018, when President Abdulla Yameen began to develop economic cooperation with the People's Republic of China. President Muizzu had promised during his election campaign to remove Indian soldiers from the territory of the island republic.