News Brief
Maldives Foreign Minister To Meet Jaishankar Ahead Of Indian Troops Withdrawal Deadline Given By Pro-China Muizzu
Nishtha Anushree
May 08, 2024, 12:24 PM | Updated 12:24 PM IST
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
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.
Save & read from anywhere!
Bookmark stories for easy access on any device or the Swarajya app.
Nishtha Anushree is Senior Sub-editor at Swarajya. She tweets at @nishthaanushree.
Support Swarajya's 50 Ground Reports Project & Sponsor A Story
Every general election Swarajya does a 50 ground reports project.
Aimed only at serious readers and those who appreciate the nuances of political undercurrents, the project provides a sense of India's electoral landscape. As you know, these reports are produced after considerable investment of travel, time and effort on the ground.
This time too we've kicked off the project in style and have covered over 30 constituencies already. If you're someone who appreciates such work and have enjoyed our coverage please consider sponsoring a ground report for just Rs 2999 to Rs 19,999 - it goes a long way in helping us produce more quality reportage.
You can also back this project by becoming a subscriber for as little as Rs 999 - so do click on this links and choose a plan that suits you and back us.
Click below to contribute.