Amid tensions, India and Maldives hold second core group meeting on Friday with a focus on finding a mutually workable solution to enable Indian military presence in the island nation.
After no desired results in the first meeting held in Male, the second round of talks between India-Maldives is getting underway in Delhi for over two weeks.
According to sources, the core group meeting is held with a focus on finding a mutually acceptable solution.
The core group meet was agreed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu on the sidelines of the COP28 summit in Dubai in December.
However, Muizzu had given an ultimatum for the India to withdraw its troops from the island nation by March 15. There are around 80 Indian military personnel in Maldives, mainly to operate two helicopters and an aircraft for required evacuations and humanitarian missions.
India-Maldives tensions erupted after pro-China Muizzu came to power in November. Muizzu had asked India to withdraw its troops by March 15 after he landed from his five-day China visit in January.
The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region.
After the first meeting of the core group on January 14, the Ministry of External Affairs said that sides were looking at finding a mutually workable solution to enable continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of Maldives.
(With PTI inputs)
