President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that India is ready to withdraw military troops in Maldives.

After concluding his visit to Turkey and the COP28 summit in Dubai, President Dr. Muizzu told reporters that he had held extensive discussions on the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives during the transition period and after taking office. So far, five discussions have been held on the matter he said.

“In my first meeting after taking oath of office, I communicated it very clearly that we do not want foreign military troops in Maldives. We asked to have all foreign military troops withdrawn from Maldives. In all our communications, India has agreed to accommodate this,” President Dr. Muizzu said.

President Dr. Muizzu said the technical aspects of the project are currently underway.

He said the Indian troops had agreed to be withdrawn verbally. President Dr. Muizzu said he had not received any official decision in writing from India.

"We are working on the details and determining the date," he said.

President Dr. Muizzu said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a post on X that he would respect the democratic decision of the people of Maldives. He added that Modi noted it is in the best interest of the people as well.

"The democratic decision of the people of Maldives is that they want the Indian troops to leave the country. Fifty-four percent of them have said that," President Dr. Muizzu said.

Therefore, Indian troops will be withdrawn from Maldives soon, he said.

He said that during the presidential election campaign, he had said that through diplomacy, the withdrawal of Indian troops would not disrupt relations between Maldives and India.