Maldives President Muizzu announces departure of second batch of Indian troops

The pro-China president of Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, said Saturday (Apr 13) the second batch of Indian military personnel has left the island nation. The unit reportedly operated a helicopter gifted by New Delhi to the Maldives. Muizzu declared the exit of the Indian troops in a political rally for his People's National Congress party ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 21. "The first team has already gone. Now, on April 9, the soldiers on the second platform have also been withdrawn," Muizzu said, according to PTI, which cited the local media.

Muizzu further declared that foreign powers and envoys wielded no power over Male now and the control of the government was solely in the hands of the citizens of the country.

Earlier, Muizzu had promised in his election campaign that all Indian troops would exit Maldives by May 10. He had also declared that the Indian troops responsible for manning the aviation platforms would leave the nation within April.

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The move comes weeks after India replaced its troops for the aviation platforms with a technical team in March. About 80 Indian troops were responsible for operating and maintaining two helicopters and an aircraft. These were gifted to Maldives by India, mainly to be used for humanitarian assistance operations and medical evacuations.

It was not immediately clear that how many Indian troops left the Maldives in the second batch.

Maldives engages China for redevelopment of Kadhdhoo Airport

In another controversial decision of the Muizzu administration, Maldives has reportedly engaged China for the ambitious redevelopment of Kadhdhoo Airport into an international hub.

Watch:Indian PM Modi extends wishes to Maldives President Muizzu on Eid

However, red flags have been raised as the Chinese company chosen for the redevelopment, CAMC Engineering, has been sanctioned by the Asian Development Bank.

CAMC Engineering is a subsidiary of the state-owned Chinese conglomerate Sinomach. The regional development bank had imposed sanctions on the firm for engaging in “fraudulent, corrupt, coercive, collusive, obstructive practices, or other integrity violations”, as per its guidelines.

(With inputs from agencies)