The first team of Indian civilian technical personnel has reached the Maldives to take over aviation duties from Indian troops, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday.
“The first team of technical personnel to operate the advanced light helicopter at Gan has reached Maldives. It will replace the existing personnel that were until now, operating this platform,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a media briefing.
India and the Maldives had reached an agreement that the Indian soldiers operating the three aircraft would be replaced with non-military technical personnel. As per the understanding between the two sides, India had agreed to replace the military personnel in one of the three aircraft by March 10 and the other two by May 10.
The decision was reached after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu asked for all Indian military personnel to be withdrawn from his country.