All Indian Troops Will Leave Maldives By May 10, Says Muizzu

“India Out” has been the message of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu ever since he was sworn in as president on November 17 last year. This was the message he reiterated in his first presidential address in the Maldivian Parliament on Monday. Stating that he would not allow any nation to interfere or undermine the “sovereignty” of the Maldives, Muizzu confirmed that all Indian troops will leave the island nation by May 10.

The anti-India stance was emphasised at the recently held High-Level Core group meeting held last Friday between New Delhi and Male.  A statement issued by the Maldivian foreign ministry stated. “During the meeting held at the Ministry of External Affairs both sides reviewed the existing bilateral cooperation for improving and enhancing the partnership in the fields of defence and security cooperation, economic, and development partnership. Both sides agreed that the Government of India will replace the military personnel in one of the three aviation platforms by 10 March 2024, and will complete replacing military personnel in the other two platforms by 10 May.”

India currently has 87 troops in the Maldives which New Delhi says provide humanitarian aid and medical evacuation.

The two main opposition parties, the MDP and the Democrats, had boycotted President Muizzu’s speech. There are 87 seats in the Maldivian Parliament, of which seven MPs have resigned to get administrative posts in the government. Out of these remaining 80 MPs, only 24 MPs attended, marking the biggest boycott of the Maldivian Parliament in history.

The political row between New Delhi and Male has been going on for some time now. Prime Minister Modi visited Lakshadweep in the first week of January to promote its beaches. The visit was seen as a threat by many in Male since many Indian tourists visit the Maldives. The row escalated when three Maldivian deputy ministers personally attacked the Indian prime minister on social media.

Since then, a boycott Maldives campaign was launched, which was supported by many Indian travel portals and Bollywood stars. Subsequently, the three ministers were suspended and Maldives toned down its anti-India rhetoric.                         

Maldives is heavily dependent on Indian tourists. According to the Maldives tourism ministry statistics, more than 2.09 lakh Indians visited the island nation in 2023. The number was more than in 2022 while over 2.9 lakh Indians flew to the Maldivesin 2021.

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