After entering office, Mohamed Muizzu, the new president of the Maldives, pledged to withdraw Indian soldiers from the island nation, claiming his nation is too tiny to be involved in geopolitical conflict. The Maldives, he continued, will “work together with all the countries, including India and China.”
Muizzu recently stated, “The Maldives is too small to be entangled in geopolitical rivalry,” in an interview with a news agency.
“We are going to work together with all the countries, India, China, and all other countries as well,” declared the 45-year-old leader, who will take the oath of office as president of the Maldives on Friday.
Muizzu has stated that the Maldives has begun talks with India to end its military deployment. One of Muizzu’s main campaign promises after ousting President Ibrahim Solih last month was to remove Indian soldiers.
Radar installations and surveillance planes supported by New Delhi are maintained by around seventy Indian military personnel. Maldivian warships assist in policing the country’s exclusive economic zone.
The election victory of Muizzu in September depended on a persistent campaign against India’s excessive political and economic influence in the Maldives, particularly on his promise to drive out Indian military.
He also clarified that his request to India to remove military forces did not imply that he would let China or any other nation to send military soldiers to the Maldives.
Muizzu was thought of as a stand-in for pro-China former president Abdulla Yameen, who, up to his fall in 2018, had significantly moved the nation closer to Beijing.