Maldives says India has agreed to withdraw troops from the archipelago

Maldivian President Mohamed Moizo said on Sunday that India had agreed to withdraw its forces from the archipelago, fulfilling a promise he made before the recent elections.

Late Sunday, Moizo's office, which supports rapprochement with China, issued a statement saying: "After a series of meetings and constructive dialogues with the Indian government, an agreement has been reached to withdraw the Indian military."

President Mohamed Moiso was elected last September as a replacement for Ibrahim Solih, who restored relations with India, but said he did not intend to upset the regional balance by replacing Indian forces with Chinese forces.

The statement issued on Sunday confirmed that the agreement to withdraw forces is “underway at the technical level,” stressing the Maldives’ commitment to “use diplomatic channels as an essential tool to ensure the absence of foreign military presence on its territory,” without specifying any time frame for withdrawal, while there has been no comment from New Delhi yet. .

The statement came after a meeting between Moiso and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Conference Cop28 held in the UAE .