India agrees to withdraw troops from Maldives: President Muizzu

President Mohamed Muizzu of the Indian Ocean archipelago said on Sunday that the Indian government has decided to remove its troops from the Maldives.

After running on a platform of changing the Maldives’ “India first” policy and promising to remove the 75-person small Indian military presence, Muizzu won the presidency in September.

“The Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers,” Muizzu said to reporters following their discussions. “We also agreed to set up a high level committee to solve issues related to development projects.”

Muizzu made the comments after speaking with Indian authorities on the sidelines of the COP28 climate conference.

A request for comment on Sunday was not immediately answered by India’s minister of foreign affairs.

China and India have been competing for influence in the region, and it is thought that the coalition backing Muizzu has a stronger inclination towards China.

The majority of Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to oversee and control two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft that India had donated to the Maldives.

India supports in disaster relief efforts, has been building a navy dockyard in the Maldives, and supplies certain military hardware to the country.

Muizzu pledged after his inauguration last month to make sure there is no foreign military presence in his nation.

He had approached India’s minister of earth sciences, Kiren Rijiju, who was representing the country at the president’s inauguration, with the request to withdraw Indian troops.

(With agency inputs)