President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that the information provided by the President's Office, regarding the India-Maldives officials' co-group, was inaccurate.

President Dr. Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, decided to form a co-group of senior officials of the two countries to further strengthen the lasting relationship between Maldives and India on the sidelines of the COP28 summit.

During a press conference held at Velana International Airport on Tuesday, a journalist questioned the President asking if the group's primary focus was solely on economic matters and if they would also address the presence of Indian military personnel in the Maldives.

The journalist thus reported that talks about the presence of Indian military personnel in the Maldives will not be discussed in the co-group, according to Ibrahim Khaleel, the Minister of Communications at the President's Office.

President Dr. Muizzu refuted this.

The President stated that the information would not be provided by the President's Office, and continued by saying that he would be presiding over discussions about the presence of Indian military personnel during the group meetings.

The President went on to say that the Indian Prime Minister had accepted his proposal to establish such a committee. He said that the President's Office Ministers and the Foreign Minister were present at the meeting with the Indian Prime Minister.

Stating that the President's Office will not give that information, President Muizzu stated that he was telling the truth.

President Muizzu promised to correct the information when the journalist pointed out that Communications Minister Kheleel had provided the information, on behalf of the President's Office.

The President indicated that the India-Maldives officials' co-group will hold discussions on economic development, infrastructure projects such as bridge development and the presence of Indian military personnel in the Maldives. The co-group would facilitate decisions for collaborated projects between Maldives and India.

According to the statement issued by the President's Office, the decision to form a co-group between Maldives and India was made to further strengthen the permanent relations between the countries.