India-Maldives Dispute: President Mohamed Muizzu Inks 20 Accords with China, Encompassing Collaborative Efforts in Tourism
Amid diplomatic tension with India arising from derogatory comments made by his ministers directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, currently on a five-day state visit to China, engaged in talks with President Xi Jinping on January 10. During this meeting, the two leaders finalized 20 significant agreements, with one of them focusing on cooperation in the field of tourism.
Mohamed Muizzu and his wife, Sajida Mohammad, received a grand welcome with a red carpet and a 21-gun salute upon their arrival in Beijing. Following productive discussions between the two leaders, they jointly declared the enhancement of their bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.
“The Government of the Maldives and the Government of China formalized 20 significant agreements during this afternoon’s signing ceremony. Both presidents were present to witness the signing,” stated the Maldivian President’s office in a post on X.
The signed agreements encompassed various areas such as tourism cooperation, disaster risk reduction, the development of the blue economy, and increased investments in the digital economy. While the specific amount of grant assistance from China to the Maldives was not disclosed, the agreements also addressed collaborative efforts in expediting the formulation of the Cooperation Plan on the Belt and Road Initiative. Other initiatives included a social housing project on Fushidhiggaru Falhu, fisheries product processing factories, and the redevelopment of Male and Villimale’s Roads Development Projects.
Muizzu recognized as a pro-China leader, undertook this visit to China amidst tensions with India due to derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Modi. Consequently, there have been reported cancellations of reservations by Indian tourists.
Muizzu is scheduled to meet with Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other senior officials before concluding his visit and returning to Male on January 12. After spending two days in the Chinese city of Fujian, he arrived in Beijing last night.
During an address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian Province on Tuesday, Muizzu urged China to increase efforts to attract more tourists to the Maldives. He highlighted that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, China was the top market for Maldivian tourism, and he expressed the desire to enhance initiatives to restore China to this prominent position.
In his speech, Muizzu commended the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects initiated by Xi Jinping in 2014, acknowledging them as instrumental in delivering the most significant infrastructure projects in the history of the Maldives.
Meanwhile, Maldivian media has reported the signing of a USD 50 million project aimed at developing an integrated tourism zone on the Indian Ocean island, as per PTI. In terms of bilateral trade for the year 2022, the total reached $451.29 million, with China’s exports accounting for $451.29 million and the Maldives contributing $60,000 in exports.
Seeking further investments, Muizzu presented 11 projects at the Maldives Investment Forum, encouraging Chinese companies to participate.
In the context of the Indian-Maldives
economic dynamics, recent data from the Maldives Tourism Ministry reveals that India retained its position as the largest tourist market for the country in 2023. The highest number of visitors came from India, totaling 209,198 arrivals, followed by Russia with 209,146 arrivals in second place, and China ranking third with 187,118 arrivals.
Muizzu emphasized that China continues to be “one of our closest allies and development partners.”
