Mohamed Muizzu has requested that India remove its military personnel from the Indian Ocean archipelago in an official correspondence, one day after taking office as president of the Maldives. According to the president's office, Muizzu asked for the evacuation of Indian troops at a meeting with Union minister Kiren Rijiju, who was in Male for the president's inauguration. Muizzu expressed hope that India will respect the “democratic will” of the Maldivian people.
He, however, acknowledged the role played by Indian military choppers, which Indian personnel help fly, in facilitating emergency medical evacuations and, according to Indian government sources, agreed to find a “workable solution” for their continued operation. Importantly for New Delhi, Muizzu called for accelerating work on India-assisted projects, including the $500 million Greater Male Connectivity Project that was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Muizzu’s predecessor Ibrahim Solih.
“They (the choppers) are also central to the confidence that international tourists have staying on remote islands. He appreciated their role in monitoring and combating drug trafficking,” said an Indian source.
The future of the two helicopters and the Dornier plane that India gave the Maldives is probably in doubt due to the departure of all Indian employees. Although president-elect Muizzu had stated multiple times that he wished to remove Indian military forces from the Maldives, ideally during the first week of his administration, the announcement still appeared hurried because, as he himself acknowledged.
According to high-level sources in the previous Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) government, there’s not a single Indian military personnel in the Maldives, except for those sent under the Indian government’s technical and economic cooperation program to help fly the Dornier aircraft and the choppers India had gifted to the country.