NEW DELHI: The issue of Indian troop presence in the Maldives is over, Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer said on Thursday.
Moosa travelled to India in the first such high-level visit from the Maldives to the neighbouring country.
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu after his election last year asked India to withdraw almost 90 military personnel manning two helicopters and one turboprop aircraft.
Those personnel have been replaced with Indian civilians to operate the military aircraft, Moosa told an Indian television channel.
“We have moved beyond that (issue) now. That part is over,” Moosa said.
The talks between Moosa and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar covered “all aspects of the relationship” including regional security issues and development cooperation, said India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal during a media briefing on Thursday.
On the foreign policy orientation of the strategically important nation, Moosa said the new administration is “pro-Maldives” and has good relations with both India and China. – BERNAMA
