Maldives President-Elect Dr. Muhammad Muizzu has asked India to withdraw all its troops from the country.

In an interview, he said we do not want any foreign military presence on Maldivian soil and we have conveyed to the Indian ambassador very clearly that every single Indian military personnel should be removed from the country.

He said we favour closer ties with China, which has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the Maldives in the form of loans and grants for infrastructure and development projects.