NEW DELHI: The Maldives pledged “enduring friendship” with India on Thursday ahead of a deadline for New Delhi to withdraw a troop garrison from the luxury tourist destination that has strained ties between the neighbours.

Pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu won office last year while campaigning on a promise to downgrade ties with India, and has since reoriented the strategically placed archipelago nation towards Beijing.

After coming to power he demanded the withdrawal of at least 89 Indian soldiers who had been stationed in the territory to assist with maritime patrols. This week, the Maldives government said more than half of the garrison had left the country ahead of the Friday deadline it had set. Despite the dispute, foreign minister Moosa Zameer struck a conciliatory note during an official visit to New Delhi on Thursday, saying his trip marked a “new initiative of collaboration, symbolising enduring friendship and shared goals”.

Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar said both countries had a common interest in reaching “an understanding on how best we take our relationship forward.” The Indian troops were operating three reconnaissance aircraft New Delhi had gifted the Maldives to patrol its vast maritime boundary.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2024