NEW DELHI: Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu on Sunday asked India to withdraw all Indian military personnel deployed in the Indian Ocean archipelago by March 15, with New Delhi saying the two sides would hold further discussions on the matter.

Muizzu made the demand as a high-level core group set up by the two countries to address the issue held its first meeting in Male. Muizzu informed the Maldivian delegation participating in the meeting to inform Indian officials that the troops must be withdrawn by mid-March, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, principal secretary to the Maldivian president, told a media briefing in Male.

This is the 12th meeting to discuss the withdrawal of Indian troops and the talks are evidence of the government’s desire to “move ahead with the withdrawal of Indian troops in a civilised and diplomatic manner without endangering the relationship between the two countries”, Ibrahim was quoted as saying by the local media.

“Indian military personnel cannot stay in the Maldives. This is the policy of President Mohamed Muizzu and that of this administration,” Ibrahim said.

A statement issued by the external affairs ministry said both sides discussed ways to find a “mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and [medical evacuation] services to the people of Maldives”.

There are some 77 Indian military personnel in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and an aircraft that have carried out hundreds of medical evacuations and humanitarian sorties.

The two sides also discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation to identify steps to “enhance the partnership, including expediting the implementation of ongoing development cooperation projects”, the statement said. The two sides agreed to hold the next meeting of the high-level core group in India on a mutually convenient date, it added.

India and the Maldives agreed to set up the high-level core group when Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the margins of COP28 in December.

The group’s meeting was held against the backdrop of a dramatic downturn in bilateral relations since the election victory last year of Muizzu, who has sought to move the Maldives closer to China. Following his return from a visit to China, Muizzu announced a slew of measures apparently aimed at curtailing the Maldives’ dependence on India in key sectors such as healthcare and food security.

Besides Indian high commissioner Munu Mahawar, other diplomats and military attaches from the Indian mission participated in the meeting. The Maldivian side was represented by Abdulla Fayyaz, chief of staff of the President’s Office, chief of defence forces, Maj Gen Abdul Raheem Latheef, Ali Naseer Mohamed, ambassador at large in the foreign ministry, and the Maldivian envoy to India, Ibrahim Shaheeb.

Muizzu, whose campaign for last year’s presidential election centred round an “India out” platform, has repeatedly called on New Delhi to withdraw military personnel posted in the Maldives to operate the helicopters and aircraft. Following his return to Male from a nearly week-long visit to China, Muizzu made several remarks and announcements at a news briefing that were apparently aimed against India.

Speaking mostly in the local Dhivehi language, Muizzu noted that relations between China and the Maldives were based on the four pillars of mutual respect, sovereign equality, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal matters. Without naming any country, he said in English: “We may be small but that doesn’t give you the licence to bully us.”

Muizzu announced the government’s universal healthcare insurance scheme, which now covers treatment in India and Sri Lanka, will be expanded to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Thailand. According to an official statement, Muizzu said this will “diminish reliance on confined medical facilities in a select group of countries”.

The Chinese will facilitate the construction of a 100-bed hospital and Chinese assistance will encompass all essential facilities for health centre laboratories across 17 islands, he said.

India is currently the main destination for Maldivians seeking medical treatment and the helicopters and aircraft provided by India have carried out hundreds of medical evacuations in recent years.

Muizzu announced that agreements were signed with China to help the Maldives expand agricultural growth to ensure food security, according to an official statement. Without naming India, he added his government will “end its dependence on one country for imported staple foods such as rice, sugar, and flour”.

An agreement has also been concluded with Turkiye, the destination of Muizzu’s first foreign visit, for importing rice, sugar and wheat. Medicines will be imported from manufacturers in Europe and the US, he said.

In an apparent reference to the troubled ties with India, Muizzu also said the Maldives is not in any country’s backyard and the Indian Ocean doesn’t belong to a single country. He said China will provide 920 million yuan in “free aid” to the Maldives, and that agreements were signed during his visit to China to build 30,000 social housing units and a commercial district in Hulhumalé.

The already troubled bilateral relations plummeted further after three junior Maldivian ministers recently posted derogatory remarks against India and its leadership. The ministers were suspended after a strong protest by India but the row led to a call on Indian social media to boycott the Maldives as a tourist destination.