Male, Maldives

Days after 76 Indian defence personnel left the Maldives following the orders of President Mohamed Muizzu, Defense Minister Ghassan Maumoon confessed that the Maldives military still lacked pilots qualified to fly three aircraft given by India.

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During a press conference on Saturday (May 11) at the President's Office, Ghassan Maumoon gave a briefing to the media about the withdrawal of Indian soldiers who were stationed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft.

In response to a question from a reporter, Ghassan Maumoon stated that although certain soldiers had started training to fly the three aircraft donated by the Indian military through agreements made by earlier administrations, there were no Maldivian soldiers in the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) who were qualified to fly them.

"As it was a training that required passing various stages, our soldiers had not reached completion due to various reasons. Therefore, there aren't any people in our force at the moment who are licensed or fully operational to fly the two helicopters and Dornier aircraft," Ghassan Maumoon was quoted as saying by Adhadhu.com news portal.

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Also read: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited personnel replace 76 Indian troops in Maldives

Relations between the two nations deteriorated after Muizzu, a pro-China leader, demanded that all Indian military personnel operating the island nation's three aviation platforms leave by May 10. India has already withdrawn 76 military soldiers.

However, a Maldivian media source stated that the Maldives government had no intention of removing Indian Army doctors from the Senahiya Military Hospital. 

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According to the Adhadhu.com report, key officials of the present administration, in contrast to Ghassan Maumoon's statements, criticised the former government and asserted that the MNDF had competent pilots during their five years in opposition.

Training Maldivians was the main reason for the arrival of Indian soldiers with the helicopters donated during former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen's governments and the Dornier aircraft brought during former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's government, it said.

Despite the failure to complete the training to date, Foreign Minister Zameer said Saturday that the agreement to replace the Indian soldiers with civilians also included provisions for training local pilots.