New Delhi: India and the Maldives convened for the third meeting of the bilateral high-level core group in Male on Sunday to assess the ongoing transition of Indian military personnel stationed in the island nation, with Male announcing that the second group will depart by April 10.
The two sides convened the meeting, shortly after India withdrew the initial team of military personnel responsible for operating an advanced light helicopter in the Indian Ocean archipelago. This military team has been replaced by civilian technical experts, as part of the transitioning process. Indian personnel currently manage three aviation platforms in the Maldives, but New Delhi is now deploying civilian personnel to oversee their operations.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu had previously set March 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his country.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said, “During the meeting, both sides reviewed the ongoing deputation of Indian technical personnel to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac (medical evacuation) services to the people of Maldives.”
The discussions also touched upon various aspects of bilateral cooperation, including expediting ongoing development projects, enhancing trade and investment, and strengthening people-to-people ties through capacity building and travel.
According to the Maldivian foreign ministry, both parties acknowledged the progress made in replacing Indian military personnel with civilians at the aviation platforms in the Maldives.
“To date, military personnel in one such platform have been replaced with civilians, and the remaining two will be replaced by civilians on April 10 and May 10. The high-level core group covered a broad range of areas in economic and development cooperation between the two countries and noted the capacity building programs recently concluded,” the Maldivian foreign ministry said in a statement.
“Additionally, discussions covered areas related to bilateral cooperation aimed at enhancing the partnership, including expediting the implementation of ongoing developmental cooperation projects,” the statement read.
It was agreed that the fourth meeting of the core group would be held in New Delhi on a mutually agreeable date.