President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of Maldives and President Xi Jinping of China, this morning, led leadership delegations of the respective countries at Official Talks.

At the meeting, President Yameen warmly welcomed President Xi, Madam Peng and members of the Chinese delegation. He highlighted that the Chinese President is visiting the Maldives exactly a month to the day after their successful meeting in Nanjing, China, on the sides of the 2nd Youth Olympic Games. President Xi, too, noted that the successive meetings were an indication of the closeness of bilateral relations between the two countries.

President Xi pointed out that, throughout the 42 years of diplomatic ties between the Maldives and China, the two countries had displayed the paradigm of how big and small could work towards mutual benefit, and identified a raft of areas in which the two countries had cooperated over the years, including trade and tourism.

President Xi noted that visiting the Maldives had led to a personal realisation of the youthful energy, new changes and dynamic momentum in the Maldives. He stressed that China wishes to work in partnership with the Maldives to further strengthen already excellent relations between the two countries. He expressed his satisfaction on the establishment of a Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Furthermore, he expressed China’s wish to develop the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with the support of the Maldives.

Noting that he had gauged the importance of the Male’-Hulhule’ Bridge towards the future development of the Maldives, President Xi said that China would support the project. He welcomed the signing today of the Memorandum of Understanding on promoting the construction of the bridge. He also noted that China would support the development of the Youth City in Hulhumale’ and the development of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport. President Xi assured that China would offer its support and assistance to the Maldives in areas that are prioritised by the Maldivian Government, and would never impose upon the Maldives in steering bilateral relations or development cooperation in any way.

President Xi, in his remarks, noted that China wishes to establish a “Future-Oriented All-Round Friendly and Cooperative Partnership” with the Maldives. He also highlighted that China wishes to increase tourist arrival numbers to the Maldives by manifold in the coming years. Noting that his State Visit was actually the best advertisement of the Maldives among avid Chinese holidaymakers, he assured that the Chinese Government would encourage Chinese people to visit the Maldives. He expressed his confidence that the Maldives could expect a sustained yet explosive growth in the number of Chinese visitors to the Maldives in the immediate future.

Referring to the Maldives as a “string of pearls that God had left on the Indian Ocean”, President Xi reiterated the Chinese Government’s commitment to boost Chinese tourist arrival numbers to the Maldives. On that point, he also offered his firm support towards joint efforts to further improve air connectivity and other services for visitors to the Maldives.

At the meeting, President Xi said that China would be extending a further RMB 600 million in grant assistance to the Maldives in the next 3 years, towards mutually agreed infrastructure projects. He also offered a further RMB 20 million assistance in military cooperation, and another RMB 20 million in South-South cooperation towards health and medicare services in the Maldives. The Chinese President pledged to support the Maldives in numerous other fields and issue areas, including loan assistance towards the development of INIA, building the Youth City, marine economic and environmental initiatives, maritime security, disaster preparedness, climate change mitigation, investment and trade promotion, development of tourism infrastructure, overseas training and human resource development of young Maldivian students and Chinese language education.

At the official talks, President Yameen briefed the Chinese President and his delegation on the key priorities of his government, including broadening of the country’s economic base, and employment for the youth. He extended his gratitude to the Chinese Government for its support for the construction of the Male’- Hulhule’ bridge; a key pledge in the Government’s manifesto. The President expressed his hopes that this bridge will serve as a lasting reminder of the enduring relationship between the Maldives and China.

Designating China as one of the Maldives’ “closest friends, most trusted allies, and the most dependable development partners”, President Yameen expressed his hopes that President Xi’s visit would give the two countries ample opportunity to further their partnership. The Maldivian President expressed his confidence that this visit would open a new chapter of the Sino-Maldives relations.

Underlining the dominance China has gained in the tourism market of the Maldives today, President Yameen delightfully noted that Social-economic ties between the two countries had continued to flourish over the years. He further said that the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries had benefitted the people of the Maldives, and contributed significantly to the development process of the country.

President Yameen, on behalf of the Government and the people of Maldives, expressed his gratitude to the Government and the people of China, for the generous assistance and wholehearted support that has always been extended to the Maldives.

At the official talks, President Yameen further said that the Maldives and China shared a common desire for a peaceful and prosperous world. He assured the Chinese President that the Maldives will continue to work with China at all multilateral forums with shared common membership, and reaffirmed the Maldives’ commitment to work together on international issues of mutual interest, including the fight against terrorism, and the efforts to curb climate change.

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom commended President Xi Jinping’s vision to build a 21st Century Maritime Silk Route, describing it as a dynamic initiative that would bring China closer to its Asian neighbours. He thanked President Xi for the opportunity to work in partnership in realising this important Asian milestone, and reassured the Chinese President that the Maldives will offer its full support towards the initiative.

Following the official talks, a joint statement between Maldives and China was issued on occasion of President Xi Jinping’s visit.