India agrees to withdraw forces from Maldives on 'Fast Track basis'
Media in the Maldives reported that President Mohamed Muizzu has asked the Indian government to withdraw Indian troops from the island by March 15.
Driving India-Maldives: According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, India and the Maldives “have mutually agreed to expedite the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the island.” The first meeting of the High-Level Core Group between Maldives and India took place in Male on Sunday.
“During the meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, both sides reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation. Discussions were held on a wide range of issues of mutual interest, including development cooperation,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives said in a press release.
“Both sides expressed their willingness to deepen cooperation and agreed to expedite the withdrawal of Indian military personnel,” the report said.
“It was agreed that the second meeting of the High-Level Core Group will take place at a mutually convenient time,” it added.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs said India and the Maldives discussed finding a mutually workable solution to continue the operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives.
India and Maldives also discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation and expediting implementation of ongoing projects.
Earlier, media in the Maldives reported that President Mohamed Muizzu has asked the Indian government to withdraw Indian troops from the island by March 15.
In particular, the removal of Indian troops in the Maldives was the main campaign of Muizzu's party.
Currently, around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, are stationed in the Maldives.
On the second day of his assumption of office, Muizzu officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.
In December last year, President Muizzu claimed that an agreement had been reached to withdraw Indian soldiers after dialogue with the Indian government.
'We are small, but we won't let ourselves be bullied'
After returning from a five-day visit to China, Muizzu on Saturday made a veiled joke against India, claiming that while the Maldives is small, it does not allow other countries to “bully us”.
“We may be small, but this does not give them the license to bully us,” Muizzu, considered a pro-China leader, said without naming a country.
“Although we have small islands in this ocean, we have a huge exclusive economic zone of 900,000 square kilometers. The Maldives is one of the countries with the largest share of this ocean,” he told the media upon his arrival from China after the state visit, the first after taking office in November last year.
“This ocean does not belong to any specific country. This (Indian) Ocean also belongs to all the countries in it,” he said, in an apparent jab at India.
“We are not in anyone's backyard. We are an independent and sovereign state,” he told the Maldives Sun Online portal.
Drive India-Maldives
A diplomatic row broke out between India and the Maldives after three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government posted derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Muizzu suspended the three ministers following their social media posts, which sparked concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in terms of numbers, followed by Russia. Chinese tourists came in third place.
(With input from agencies)