“The allocation to the Maldives this time is 7.79 billion rupees, compared with the previous estimate of 6 billion rupees.”
New Delhi:
India will replace military personnel on Maldivian aviation platforms with capable Indian technicians, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. The Maldives government led by Mohammad Muizou has formally asked India to withdraw its troops from Male.
In this regard, the second high-level group meeting was held in New Delhi on February 2, and the third meeting is scheduled to be held later this month.
“What we have to say, we have clarified in the press release. This is after the second high-level It was done after the caucus meeting. We also said that a third caucus meeting would follow.”
“I would say the existing personnel will be replaced by capable Indian technical personnel,” Jaiswal said.
After the second meeting, the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that India will replace military personnel on one of the three Maldives aviation platforms by March 10 and will complete the replacement by May 10.
“Both sides agreed that the Indian government would replace military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms by March 10, 2024, and complete the replacement of military personnel on the other two platforms by May 10, 2024,” the statement said.
Notably, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement that India and the Maldives have agreed on a mutually workable set of solutions to enable Indian aviation platforms to continue operations to provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives.
“Both parties have also agreed on a mutually feasible solution to enable the Indian aviation platform to continue operating to provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives,” the statement said.
Previously, local media in the Maldives reported that President Muizu had asked the Indian government to withdraw its troops from the Maldives before March 15.
It is worth noting that withdrawing troops from the country is a major campaign campaign for Muizu’s party. Currently, about 70 Indian soldiers, Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters are stationed in the Maldives.
The MEA spokesperson also addressed speculations regarding budget allocation to the Maldives in the mid-term budget 2024-25.
Jaiswal said that 7.79 billion rupees had been allocated to the Maldives, compared with the previous estimate of 6 billion rupees, and New Delhi remained a “firm development partner” of Male.
“There are a lot of conflicting ways that people’s budgets are like this. I’ve seen some media reports saying that the allocation has increased, and some saying that the allocation has decreased. Set aside a certain amount of money, then modify it, and then there you have it.” This is a revision phase where new proposals are considered,” an MEA spokesperson said.
He added: “The allocation to the Maldives this time is Rs 779 billion, compared to the earlier estimate of Rs 6 billion. The new figures will also be revised when we have a clearer picture of what kind of progress is taking place. We remain the Maldives A committed development partner.” Maldives. “
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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