New Delhi:
India and the Maldives will hold crucial talks on Friday with a focus on finding a mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian military platforms in the island nation, people familiar with the matter said.
The second high-level core group meeting between India and Maldives is underway in Delhi, more than two weeks after the first one in Male failed to make significant progress on the contentious issue.
The core group meeting is underway with a focus on finding a mutually acceptable solution, one of the people cited above said.
The two sides decided to form the core group after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Muizzu on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai in December.
Last month, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu asked India to withdraw all its military personnel from the island by March 15.
Currently, about 80 Indian military personnel are present in the Maldives, mainly to operate two helicopters and an aircraft that have carried out hundreds of medical evacuations and humanitarian missions.
Ties between the two countries have come under some strain since Muizzu came to power in November.
After taking charge, Muizzu, who is widely seen as a pro-China leader, insisted he will keep his election promise and expel Indian soldiers from his country.
Muizzu, 45, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential elections last September.
The Maldives is one of India's most important maritime neighbors in the Indian Ocean region and overall bilateral ties, including in defense and security, were on an upward trajectory under the previous administration in Male.
Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the new President of the Maldives on November 17.
A day after taking charge of the highest office, he called for the withdrawal of Indian soldiers from the Maldives.
Following the first meeting of the core group on January 14, the State Department said the parties were seeking a mutually workable solution to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the population of the Maldives.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)