- Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Mohamed Muizzu arrived in Beijing on Monday, January 8.
By: Shubham Ghosh
MOHAMED Muizzu, the newly elected president of Maldives who arrived in China on his first state visit on Monday (8), praised Beijing as a “valued ally and integral collaborator” of the Indian Ocean island nation and hailed the cooperation between the two countries.
Muizzu, who is regarded as “pro-China”, met provincial officials in Fujian on the first day of his five-day visit, a day after he fired three ministers for making derogatory remarks against Indian prime minister Narendra Modi resulting in a major diplomatic row with India which besides being Maldives closest neighbour assisted Male with a host of projects.
Indians constitute the largest number of tourists in the tourism-dependent Maldives.
Read: Maldives summons India envoy to ‘explain’ its story
Joined President Dr @MMuizzu’s meeting with the leadership of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) today.
The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, one of the most significant projects undertaken by the team of CCCC, has been instrumental to the development of the… pic.twitter.com/FMfbhtz8jL
— Moosa Zameer (@MoosaZameer) January 8, 2024
Arrived in China with President Dr @MMuizzu on a State Visit.
Looking forward to fruitful meetings with Fujian Provincial leaders and to attend the Maldives Invest Forum.
We aim to foster meaningful and mutually beneficial partnerships between the business communities of… https://t.co/AP6EyDPDBu
— Moosa Zameer (@MoosaZameer) January 8, 2024
While China is yet to release his official itinerary, the foreign ministry here said earlier that he is due to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping and sign several agreements.
Read: Old video of former India cricket captain MS Dhoni went viral amid Maldives row; here’s why
In his meeting with senior officials of the China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) which has done projects in the Maldives, Muizzu “underscored the significance of China as a valued ally and an integral collaborator in the developmental journey of the Maldives”, a press release issued by his office in Male said.
He expressed aspirations to enhance bilateral relations to new heights and enhance collaborative efforts in various areas of mutual interest, the readout said. Later he met Zhou Zuyi, secretary of the ruling Communist Party of China, Fujian Provincial Party unit.
Muizzu said the Maldives valued the China-Maldives relationship and expressed his hopes to increase cooperation in multiple areas.
His maiden visit to China, however, has been marred by a huge diplomatic row triggered by the derogatory remarks against Modi by some Maldivian deputy ministers after the Indian leader posted a video of him on a pristine beach during his visit to Lakshadweep, an Indian chain of islands located near the Maldives.
The Maldivian envoy to India was on Monday summoned to the external affairs ministry and conveyed strong concern over remarks. Muizzu is due to hold talks with Xi and sign several agreements to bolster the bilateral ties, according to the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin.
(With PTI inputs)
