India, Maldives Hold Second Core Group Meeting On Troops Issue

People who know about the situation say that India and the Maldives are having important talks on Friday to try to find a solution that works for both sides so that Indian military bases can continue to operate in the island nation.

The second meeting of the India-Maldives high level core group is now going on in Delhi. The first meeting, which took place in Male over two weeks ago, did not make any major progress on the problem.

One of the people listed above said that the core group meeting is currently going on, and the main goal is to find an answer that works for everyone.

The choice to form the core group came from a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Muizzu of the Maldives during the COP28 gathering in Dubai in December.

Last month, President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives asked India to pull all of its troops out of the island nation by March 15.

About 80 Indian soldiers are currently in the Maldives. Their main job is to fly two helicopters and an airplane that have done hundreds of medical evacuations and humanitarian tasks.

Since Muizzu took office in November, relations between the two countries have been tense.

After taking office, Muizzu, who is seen as a pro-China leader, said he would keep his election promise to kick Indian soldiers out of his country.

In the presidential runoff in September of last year, Muizzu, 45, beat Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the incumbent, who was friends with India.

The Maldives is one of India’s most important coastal neighbors in the Indian Ocean Region. Overall, the two countries’ ties got stronger under the previous government in Male, especially in the areas of defense and security.

As of November 17, Muizzu was sworn in as the new president of the Maldives.

His first act as president was to order the removal of Indian troops from the Maldives the next day.

After the first meeting of the core group on January 14, the Ministry of External Affairs said that both sides were trying to come up with a solution that would allow the Indian aviation platforms that help people in the Maldives get medical care and humanitarian aid to keep running.