Mohamed Muizzu, Maldives presidential candidate of the opposition party, People's National Congress speaks with the media personnel during the second round of a presidential election in Male, Maldives September 30, 2023.
REUTERS/Dhahau Naseem /File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsMALE, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Maldives new President Mohamed Muizzu, who campaigned on altering the tiny Indian Ocean archipelago's "India first" policy, has requested India withdraw its military from the country.
Muizzu won the presidential election in September, ousting Ibrahim Solih in a runoff after promising to remove a small Indian military presence of some 75 personnel.
At his inauguration on Friday, Muizzu said, "I will ensure that this country has no foreign military presence on its soil."
Muizzu made the request to Kiren Rijiju, India's minister for earth sciences, who was representing India at the president's inauguration, it said.
Persons:
Mohamed Muizzu, Dhahau Naseem, Muizzu, Ibrahim Solih, Kiren, Krishn Kaushik, Mohamed Junayd, Munsif Vengattil, William Mallard
Organizations:
People's, REUTERS, Indian, Thomson
Locations:
Maldives, Male, India, China, New Delhi