The Maldives’ foreign minister, Moosa Zameer, disclosed on Saturday that 76 Indian military personnel stationed in the country have been replaced by civilian personnel from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the Maldives-based company that manufactured the helicopters donated to the Maldives by the Indian government. The Indian soldiers were deployed in Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo, and Gan. Between March 7 and 9, 26 soldiers withdrew from Gan, while another 25 withdrew from Hanimaadhoo on April 7-9. On May 7, 12 soldiers departed from Kadhdhoo, according to the report citing Moosa Zameer. He added that civilians have been recruited to replace the Indian soldiers and will remain until April 2026. “Civilians have been brought in to replace all of them, to maintain and manage the aircrafts. We want to note that only the necessary number had been here before, as well.” Zameer also mentioned that the letter of exchange between Maldives and India specifies the departure date for the civilian crew. The 26-member crew in Gan and the 25-member crew in Kadhdhoo have contracts expiring in February 2025, while the 25-member crew in Hanimaadhoo’s contract expires in February 2026. “Their period of stay is declared in the latest letter of exchange signed with us. The period will remain in place for long as there are no amendments made to this letter of exchange. We will engage in further talks with the Indian government based on need,” Zameer stated. Earlier on May 10, India’s ministry of external affairs confirmed the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the Maldives and the “deputation of competent persons” to the archipelago nation. “So, both Maldives and India have engaged quite some time to see how best they can continue the operation of aviation platforms. And in that regard, you have seen developments in first and second batches of people who were providing their support there, they had come back,” MEA official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a press briefing.
Indian Military Personnel Deployed in Maldives Replaced by Civilians
