India, Jan. 14 -- Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu on Sunday asked India to "withdraw all Indian military personnel" deployed in the Indian Ocean archipelago by March 15, even as senior officials of the two countries met in Male to discuss the issue.

Muizzu directed the Maldivian delegation participating in the meeting to inform Indian officials that the troops must be withdrawn by mid-March, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, principal secretary to the Maldivian president, told a media briefing in Male.

This is the 12th meeting to discuss the withdrawal of Indian troops, and the talks are evidence of the government's desire to "move ahead with the withdrawal of Indian troops in a civilised and diplomatic matter without endangering the relationsh...