Before May 10, Indian troops will depart the Maldives: Says Prez Muizzu in First Parliamentary Address

Maldivian President asserts sovereignty and reiterates his opposition to India. talks about the deal struck in Parliament for the withdrawal of Indian troops.

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Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu reaffirmed his opposition to India in his first speech to the legislature on Monday, saying that his country will not tolerate any meddling with its sovereignty. These statements are in accordance with an agreement reached by Male and New Delhi for the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives by May 10.

Before March 10, 2024, the Indian Army will remove the military personnel from one of the three aviation platforms. The opposition parties mostly abstained from Muizzu's speech, which was reported by SunOnline, "The remaining two platforms will be evacuated before May 10, 2024."

There will be civilians stationed in the Indian Ocean islands to replace the approximately eighty military. By the end of May, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry announced last week, India will withdraw its troops from the Maldives. Additionally, according to the External Affairs Ministry, the parties have reached a consensus on a number of compromises that will allow Indian aviation platforms to continue offering medical evacuation and humanitarian help to the Maldivians.

Since Mohamed Muizzu was elected president of the Maldives last year and promised to end the nation's "India First" policy, New Delhi's relations with Male have been strained. He has demanded that the soldiers stationed to support the military hardware that New Delhi has provided to the Maldives be removed by March 15 in order to enable humanitarian efforts in the area.

The Maldives earlier reported, citing an agreement struck at a high-level meeting in the Indian capital on a range of subjects impacting bilateral cooperation, that the first batch of Indian troops will leave by March 10 and the remaining forces by May 10. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) abstained from Muizzu's inauguration speech to the Parliament earlier today. The Democrats, a different opposition party, joined the MDP and claimed that the three cabinet members who were rejected by the Parliament last week had been invited to the meeting.

According to the Maldivian outlet SunOnline International, the MDP, which is in charge of the majority in the Parliament, declared that the purpose of their boycott of Muizzu's speech is to undermine the dignity of the legislature. The island nation's president is mandated by the Constitution to address Parliament during the inaugural session of the new term every year, according to local media.