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Amid the ongoing India-Maldives row, the United Stated has said that it is committed to strengthening cooperation with the Indian Ocean archipelagic nation and described Maldives as a key partner in ensuring a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
The statement came from US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Donald Lu who recently visited the Maldives for discussions with the country’s new administration and the civil society.
When Lu was asked on his visit to Maldives from 29-31 January, he told news agency PTI that, “The United States is committed to strengthening cooperation with the Maldives, a key partner in ensuring a free, open, secure, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.”
His remarks come at a time when there is an ongoing diplomatic row between the Maldives and India following a demand by President Muizzu to withdraw all 88 Indian military personnel from his country. There have been growing global concerns over China’s increasing military muscle-flexing in the Indo-Pacific region.
While in Male, Lu also met with Mohamed Muizzu and other senior officials to discuss shared priorities, including defence cooperation, economic growth, and democratic governance.
“They also discussed progress on establishing the US Embassy in Maldives that will further strengthen our partnership and people-to-people ties,” the spokesperson said as quoted by PTI.
Lu also met with members of civil society and higher education officials to discuss democratic governance and transparency in the Maldives, said the spokesperson.
Soon after taking oath as the President of Maldives on November 17, Muizzu formally requested India to withdraw 88 military personnel from his country by March 15, saying the Maldivian people have given him a “strong mandate” to make this request to New Delhi.
Following talks between the two countries, India on Thursday said it will replace its military personnel operating three aviation platforms in the Maldives with “competent” Indian technical personnel.
“I would like to say that the present personnel will be replaced by competent Indian technical personnel,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, Muizzu on Monday said the first group of Indian military personnel will be sent back before March 10 and the remaining manning ones will be withdrawn before May 10. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) after completing its Article IV Mission to the Maldives said that the South Asian nation’s post-pandemic growth has been strong, but recently normalised.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Published: 09 Feb 2024, 12:19 PM IST
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