The President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, made an announcement stating that India has agreed to withdraw its army from the Indian Ocean archipelago nation. He mentioned that both countries have also committed to establishing a high-level committee to address concerns regarding development projects between them.
Muizzu informed reporters, "In our discussions, the Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers. We have also reached an agreement to create a high-level committee to resolve issues linked to development projects."
Contrarily, Indian government sources clarified that discussions regarding troop withdrawal are still ongoing and no final decision has been made yet. They emphasized the need to comprehensively assess the usefulness of Indian platforms involved in disaster recovery activities in the Maldives before reaching a final conclusion.
Reportedly, the issue of troop withdrawal was discussed during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Maldivian President at the COP29 Climate Summit in Dubai,
President Muizzu, recently elected, formally requested India on November 18 to withdraw its military presence from the Maldives. This aligns with his commitment, a key focus outlined in his manifesto, to uphold the Maldives’ independence and sovereignty, ensuring it remains free from foreign military presence.
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