Male, Maldives:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu here on Saturday and emphasised New Delhi’s commitment to deepen India-Maldives ties for the benefit of the people in the two countries and the region.

Jaishankar is on a three-day official visit to Maldives to reset the bilateral relationship, the first high-level trip from India after the archipelago nation’s pro-China president Muizzu assumed office last year.

“Privileged to call on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. Conveyed greetings of PM @NarendraModi. Committed to deepening India-Maldives ties for the benefit of our people and the region,” Jaishankar posted on X along with a photograph of the meeting.

Jaishankar’s trip to the Maldives comes weeks after President Muizzu’s visit to India in June to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Earlier, Jaishankar met Maldivian Defence Minister Ghassan Maumoon and discussed bilateral security cooperation and the “shared interest” in maintaining peace and stability in the region, amidst China’s growing presence in the archipelago nation.

The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November 2023.

Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel manning three aviation platforms in the Maldives.

Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians by May 10, the mutually agreed date.

This is the first official visit of Jaishankar to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June 2024. His previous visit was in January 2023.

Jaishankar’s three-day visit till August 11 comes at the invitation of his counterpart, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Moosa Zameer.

In a statement ahead of his visit, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, “Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour and an important partner in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and our Vision ‘SAGAR’, that is, Security and Growth for All in the Region.” “The visit is aimed at strengthening the close partnership between the two countries and to explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further,” the MEA statement added.

The Maldives is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous government in Male.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Male:

Former Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid said on Saturday that the claims made by President Mohamed Muizzu about “thousands of Indian military personnel” were just another in a string of lies, adding that there are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the country.

Posting on his social media account X, the newly elected president of the Maldivian Democratic Party said, “100 days in, it’s clear: President Muizzu’s claims of ‘thousands of Indian military personnel’ were just another in a string of lies. The current administration’s inability to provide specific numbers speaks volumes. There are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the country.”

He stressed that “transparency matters and that the truth must prevail.”

Muizzu’s party had focussed its election campaign on the removal of Indian troops from Maldives. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, stationed in the Maldives.

On the second day of assuming office, Muizzu officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.

Last December, Muizzu had claimed that following talks with the Indian government, an agreement was reached to withdraw Indian military personnel.

Read | Maldives Asks India To Withdraw Military Personnel By March 15: Report

The president also stated that diplomatic negotiations were underway for the withdrawal of Indian troops. He detailed that, as agreed in the last negotiations, the military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms would be withdrawn before March 10, 2024, and the military personnel on the remaining two platforms would be withdrawn before May 10, 2024.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India will replace military personnel at aviation platforms in the Maldives with competent Indian technical personnel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)