Maldives Foreign Minister To Meet Jaishankar Ahead Of Indian Troops Withdrawal Deadline Given By Pro-China Muizzu

A day before the deadline for the withdrawal of Indian troops ends, Maldives Foreign Affairs Minister Moosa Zameer will meet his Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar on Thursday (9 May) in New Delhi.

This will be the first high-level ministerial visit since pro-China Mohamed Muizzu became the President of Maldives. The discussions will include bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.

"Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and Foreign Minister Zameer’s visit is expected to lend further momentum to the bilateral cooperation between the two countries," the MEA press release said.

This comes a few days after Maldivian Tourism Minister Ibrahim Faisal requested Indians to "be a part of Maldives' tourism" citing the country's economic dependence on tourism.

Last month, Muizzu's People National Congress (PNC) won a landslide victory in the Maldivian parliament — the Majlis and Swarajya believes that it gives him an opportunity to tone down anti-India rhetoric.

Since his victory in last year's Presidential elections, accomplished riding on the back of an anti-India, India-Out campaign, President Muizzu has taken multiple actions that deteriorated diplomatic relations between the two nations.

The withdrawal deadline for 90-odd serving Indian armed forces personnel stationed in the Maldives, to maintain and service equipment gifted by India to the Maldives — one Dornier Do-228 aircraft and two Dhruv helicopters, is 10 May.

India has complied with this dictate by withdrawing two teams in the last three months and replacing them with civilian personnel. However, Muizzu objected to this as well by saying that no Indian troops, not even in civilian clothing will be allowed to stay.