India’s government has agreed to withdraw its soldiers from the Maldives, the Indian Ocean archipelago’s President Mohamed Muizzu said on Sunday, following engagements on the sidelines of the COP28 with top Indian officials.

“In the discussions we had, the Indian government has agreed to remove Indian soldiers,” Muizzu told reporters and a statement was issued for the same. “We also agreed to set up a high-level committee to solve issues related to development projects.”

Muizzu won the presidential election in September, having campaigned for the removal of a small Indian military presence in the archipelago. India provides certain military equipment to the Maldives, assists in disaster response and has been helping build a naval dockyard there. Most of the Indian military personnel were in the Maldives to operate and manage two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft given to the Maldives by India.

Last week, India and the Maldives agreed to set up a core group to further deepen their partnership after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a “productive” meeting with the newly-elected Maldivian President on the sidelines of COP28.

“President @MMuizzu and I had a productive meeting today. We discussed ways to enhance the India-Maldives friendship across diverse sectors. We look forward to working together to deepen cooperation for the benefit of our people,” the PM tweeted after the meeting, his first with Muizzu.

(With inputs from agencies)