Five key agreements have been signed between the Chinese and Maldivian government.
State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China Wang Yi and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, Saturday witnessed the signing of the agreements on important areas such as infrastructure development, health, and travel.
The agreements that were signed during the visit were “Agreement on Mutual Visa Exemption between the Government of the Republic of Maldives and the Government of the People’s Republic of China”, which will allow Maldivians to travel to China on a 30-day visa free basis, once the pandemic restrictions have been lifted, and the “Agreement of Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Maldives and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on Grand Aid” focusing on development of key areas such as social, livelihood, and infrastructure projects. Both these agreements were signed by State Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel on behalf of the Government of Maldives.
Mohamed Aslam, the Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure signed on behalf of the Government, a “Letter of Exchange on the Feasibility Study of Management and Maintenance of China-Maldives Friendship Bridge”. Akram Kamauludeen, Minister of State for National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure also signed a “Supplementary Contract to the Implementation Contract for China Aided Micro-Grid Sea-water Desalination Project in the Maldives”.
Finally, Ahmed Naseem, Minister of Health, signed the “Agreement on Establishing a Hospital Assistance and Cooperation Programme between the Ministry of Health and the National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China.”
According to the Foreign Ministry, the agreements will directly benefit the people of Maldives, improving the quality of health services, providing additional outlets for sea water desalination, and by assisting the Government with the maintenance of the flagship China-Maldives Friendship Bridge.
