Newly elected Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has acted swiftly on his poll pledge and told India to pull its troops out of his archipelago nation.

The decision was conveyed by President Muizzu in a meeting with India’s earth sciences minister, Kiren Rijiju, on Saturday; soon after, the advice to New Delhi was made public by Muizzu’s office.

Late in the night, sources in New Delhi confirmed that the Maldivian President had brought up the issue but claimed the two sides had agreed to discuss workable solutions for continued cooperation.

Muizzu came to power riding on the “India Out” campaign against the perceived pro-India tilt of the Ibrahim Solih government. The day after winning the October 1 presidential election, Muizzu had announced in his victory speech that removing
the contentious Indian military presence from the Maldives would be his first order of business after taking over.

Rijiju had arrived in Male for the swearing-in on Friday and called on Muizzu on Saturday morning. He put out photographs of the meeting on X but made no mention of Muizzu’s request in his post.

“Privileged to call on President H.E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Conveyed greetings from Hon’ble PM @NarendraModi and reiterated India’s commitment to further strengthen the substantive bilateral cooperation and robust people-to-people ties,” Rijiju posted.

In mid-October, asked for a response on the then President-elect Muizzu’s plans to ask India to withdraw troops once in office, external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had underscored that the Indian military presence in the Maldives helped
the archipelago in many ways.

“Over the last five years, more than 500 medical evacuations have been carried out by our personnel, saving 523 Maldivian lives. In the same period, more than 450 multi-faceted missions have been carried out to safeguard the maritime security of Maldives,” Bagchi said.

“India has also been first responder for Maldives in any disaster scenario, including most recently during Covid.”

Sources said that Muizzu had acknowledged the contribution that the Indian choppers and aircraft stationed in the Maldives made to medical evacuation. One such evacuation was carried out by the MNDF on Saturday too.

“They are also central to the confidence that international tourists have staying on remote islands,” a source said.

This is not the first time a Maldivian government has asked New Delhi to withdraw its troops from the atoll nation.

The Yameen government, which preceded the Solih dispensation, had repeatedly requested India to take back the two helicopters gifted to Male by the Manmohan Singh government in 2013. But India did not do so.

During Solih’s tenure, India added to the military presence by gifting the Maldives a Dornier aircraft in 2020.

The Indian troops are on the ground in the Maldives to operate the Dornier aircraft and the two helicopters. In November 2021, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) informed the parliamentary committee on security services that 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to operate the aircraft and choppers.

The MNDF had been summoned by the panel in connection with the UTF agreement with the Indian military to develop a dockyard and military port in Uthuru Thilafalalhu

With the UTF agreement reportedly extending diplomatic immunity to the Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives, the Opposition began raising concerns about India eroding Maldivian sovereignty, helping the India Out campaign gain currency.

According to the Atoll Times, the UTF agreement included a $50-million loan from India for the development of North Thilafalalhu.

The military port is to be developed and managed jointly by the Maldivian and Indian armed forces, and no foreign ships will be allowed to enter the port without India’s permission.