Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid has called for more Chinese investments in the Maldives to further expand the tourism industry of the archipelago.
Shahid made his statement in an interview give to Xinhua News Agency, the official state-run press agency of the People's Republic of China.
In the interview given to the media during his first official visit to China, Foreign Minister Shahid invited Chinese companies to invest in the Maldives, particularly, in the tourism industry.
Minister Shahid said China accounts for one-third of Maldivian tourist arrivals, and expressed hopes of increasing the number of flights operated between China and Maldives to increase connectivity between both countries.
The Maldives government has announced that the government aims to increase tourist arrivals from China to one million per year by 2023.
"The aim is to accommodate over a million Chinese tourist arrivals per year by the year 2023", Shahid said.
He also said that there had been thorough discussions on strengthening bilateral ties and maintaining relations with China.
