Maldives asks India to officially withdraw its military presence from archipelago

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has formally requested the Government of India to withdraw its military presence from the island nation.

The request was made public by the president’s office through an official statement. The announcement, made by the Maldivian President’s office, said his country “hopes that India will honour the democratic will of the people”. The request was made when Muizzu met Earth Sciences Minister Kiren Rijiju in Malé earlier in the day.

“The President noted that at the Presidential Election held in September, the Maldivian people had given him a strong mandate to make the request to India and expressed the hope that India will honour the democratic will of the people of the Maldives,” the statement read.

“When Minister Rijiju called on President Muizzu, the President brought up the issue of Indian military personnel present in the Maldives for operating aircraft for medical evacuation and counter drug trafficking purposes,” it added.

The request for the withdrawal of Indian troops from the island nation comes a day after Muizzu took oath as the Maldivian president. Engineer-turned-politician, Muizzu, 45, was inducted as the eighth president of the archipelago nation after he resigned as the mayor of Malé.

Rijiju, among other South Asian ministers, represented the country at Muizzu’s inauguration ceremony held on Friday. Shortly after Muizzu’s inauguration ceremony, Maldivian president held a tete-a-tete with Rijiju and his office said their meeting also reviewed “various projects in Maldives with the support of India”.

“The President (at the meeting with Rijiju) emphasised the importance of accelerating the Greater Malé Connectivity Project (GMCP), and highlighted the importance of addressing and overcoming the issues delaying the project,” it stated.

It further said, “The Minister expressed his aspiration to foster a constructive relationship with the Maldives, acknowledging the presence of a vibrant Indian community residing in the Maldives.”

Muizzu had indicated during the election campaign that the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives is among the issues that need to be resolved.

Meanwhile, Kiren Rijiju took to X, formerly Twitter, and cemented the country’s ties with Maldives.

“Conveyed greetings from PM Narendra Modi and reiterated India’s commitment to further strengthen substantive bilateral cooperation and robust people-to-people ties,” Rijiju tweeted.

Muizzu defeated Ibrahim Solih, who was regarded as India-friendly, in a runoff in September. As per reports, the newly elected President had recently said that Maldives was “too small to be entangled in geopolitical rivalry” and that his foreign policy would not include it.

Soon after the oath-taking on Friday, Muizzu had asserted that he was firmly committed to ensuring that his country remains “free” of any “foreign military presence” to preserve its independence and sovereignty. However, he did not name any country in his inaugural address.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, speaking about point on cooperation with Maldives, recently said, ” Over the last five years, more than 500 medical evacuations have been carried out by our personnel, saving 523 Maldivian lives. Of these, 131 evacuations were carried out this year, another 140 last year, and a further 109 in 2021. Similarly, during the last five years, more than 450 multifaceted missions have been carried out to safeguard the maritime security of Maldives.”

“Look, our cooperation with Maldives is based on jointly addressing shared challenges and priorities,” he added.