In the midst of a diplomatic row, India has withdrawn all its soldiers from Maldives, the island country’s government said in an official statement. Indian troops were withdrawn from Maldivian territory shortly before the May 10 deadline set by the latter’s president, Mohamed Muizzu earlier.

President Muizzu, widely seen as a pro-China leader, had set May 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the Indian military personnel from his country. The withdrawal of Indian military personnel was one of the key promises of Muizzu’s government during his presidential campaign last year.

Heena Waleed, president’s office’s chief spokesperson, confirmed to the media that the last of the Indian soldiers stationed in Maldives had been repatriated, without giving an exact number of troops. She added details about the number of the soldiers stationed would be disclosed later.

Maldives had earlier said in a government statement that 51 out of the total number of Indian troops stationed in the country were repatriated to India on Monday. The government earlier announced the presence of 89 Indian soldiers in the Maldives, citing official documents.

After Muizzu set the May 10 deadline, India agreed to withdraw its troops from the country before the last date to avoid any conflicts.

At a media briefing in New Delhi on Thursday, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the first and the second batches of the Indian personnel returned to India and “now deputation of competent Indian technical personnel has taken place” to operate the three Indian aviation platforms.

This development comes just a day after India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer. The two leaders had extensive talks on bilateral ties and regional security issues of India and Maldives.

Zameer said that the two foreign ministers also discussed the possibility of President Muizzu making a visit to New Delhi very soon.

The Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a special place in its initiatives like ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ of the Modi government.

(With inputs from PTI)