Amid row with India, Maldives president meets Xi in China
In his address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian province on January 9, Muizzu appealed to China to "intensify" efforts to send more tourists to Male
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday held talks with his Maldivian counterpart Mohamed Muizzu, who is on a five-day state visit to China, amid a diplomatic row with India.
President Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, was accorded a red carpet welcome and a 21-gun salute on his arrival in Beijing.
The Chinese media reported that Xi and Muizzu held talks but did not give details.
Inviting Chinese tourists
Besides Xi, Muizzu is expected to meet Chinese Premier Li Qiang and other senior officials before returning to Male on January 12.
Muizzu reached Beijing last night after staying in the Chinese city of Fujian for two days.
In his address to the Maldives Business Forum in Fujian province on Tuesday, Muizzu appealed to China to "intensify" efforts to send more tourists to his country.
"China was our (Maldives') number one market (for tourism) pre-Covid, and it is my request that we intensify efforts for China to regain this position," he said.
Row with India
Muizzu is visiting Beijing amid a row with India after some Maldivian ministers posted derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The row with India led to a spate of cancellations of reservations by Indian tourists who now constitute the largest number of visitors to the tourism-dependent island nation.
Muizzu's government suspended three deputy ministers for their derogatory posts on social media.
Praises BRI
Muizzu, who said China remains "one of our closest allies and development partners", praised the Belt and Road Initiative projects launched by President Xi in 2014 as well. He pointed out that they delivered the most significant infrastructure projects witnessed in Maldivian history.
Trade with China
Further, Muizzu said his administration was committed to the quick implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed with China.
Maldives and China signed the FTA in December 2014 during the pro-China president Abdulla Yameen administration. His successor president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's administration did not implement the agreement.
The China-Maldives bilateral trade in 2022 totalled to US$ 451.29 million, of which China’s exports constituted US$ 451.29 million against US$ 60,000 of exports from Maldives.
(With agency inputs)
