Will oust Indian troops on Day 1: Maldives prez-elect

New Delhi: Mohamed Muizzu, the president-elect of the Maldives, insists on keeping his election campaign pledge to remove Indian military soldiers from the archipelago, although he claims he will do so diplomatically. Muizzu, who will officially assume the presidency next month, has stated that he intends to see the Indian forces leave as soon as possible after taking office.
Widely seen as a pro-China leader, Muizzu told the media in an interview that he will request India to remove its troops on “day one” after taking over as president and that this was one of his top priorities. Muizzu had defeated the incumbent Ibrahim Solih, who was seen as more favourably inclined towards India, in a presidential run off last month.
“I have actually met with the Indian high commissioner a few days ago during the transition period and during that meeting itself, I had mentioned that we need this to be our top most priority. They have positively noted that and have said that they will work together with us to find a way forward on this,” said Muizzu, when asked about his promise to remove Indian troops. He, however, admitted he wasn’t aware of the number of Indian military personnel in the Maldives. “We have been a very peaceful country for centuries. We never had any foreign troops on our soil. We do not have a big military set up and with any foreign troops on our soil, we don’t feel secure,” he added.