The meeting with Indian Ambassador Munu Mahawar was very good and India wants to "resolve everything through talks", President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said.
Muizzu, who won the September 30 presidential election with 54 percent of the vote, had pledged to send away Indian troops from Maldives.
The Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) coalition and some other opposition parties accuse the incumbent government of being under Indian influence. The government denies the allegations.
Muizzu said the message from the election results is that the people of Maldives do not want foreign troops to stay in the country.
He gave details of the discussions with the Indian Ambassador in an exclusive interview broadcast on Vaguthu TV Friday night.
Muizzu said he told the Ambassador that there were many questions about the presence of Indian troops in Maldives and it was important to get answers to those questions.
"I said that every country has the right to guarantee its independence... He said that they have no questions about it and that both sides can talk and proceed in a way that benefits both sides. We [India] are ready to solve everything by discussion,” Muizzu said
He also asked the Indian Ambassador to make it easy for the government to repay the loans and to continue the development projects. Muizzu said he was unaware of the details of the project agreements and if there were any problems in the agreements, he wanted to resolve them.
The Ambassador assured that there would be nothing in the agreements that would harm the Maldives' sovereignty, Muizzu noted.
"They assured that there would be no such thing. And they also said that they hope that we will be able to go through the agreements as part of the transition work and that things will be clarified," he said.
"The meeting was very positive and very productive, in a manner that we can put the nation first."
Muizzu also gave the details of his meetings with other ambassadors.
He said discussions were held about the relationship between the two countries, the highlights of the existing relationship and the direction needed in the future.
On Wednesday, Muizzu first met with the British ambassador. He then met with the Chinese Ambassador, the Indian Ambassador and the UAE Ambassador.
The British Ambassador spoke about the programs that can be carried out by the British Government and assured cooperation to the Muizzu administration.
"It's very easy for me to deal with the UK. Because it's a very familiar place for me, they also mentioned that. So it was a very good meeting," Muizzu said.
The President-elect spent eight years in England pursuing his higher education.
Discussions were held with the Chinese Ambassador to further strengthen relations and accelerate development projects under the policy of Maldives first, he said, while the discussions with the UAE Ambassador included trade and SEZ.
