A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Zhang Dejiang (R), chairman of China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, meets with Maldives President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 8, 2017. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) — China and the Maldives agreed in Beijing on Friday to boost parliamentary exchanges and share experience in governance and legislation. The […]
China and the Maldives appear to have different perspectives on Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen’s three-day visit to Beijing which will end today, 9 December. Both countries feel that the visit has taken the relationship to a higher level and broadened its scope greatly. But while China has laid stress on the signing of an […]
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has sent a message on the occasion of this year’s SAARC Charter Day. The President’s message reads as follows: “On the occasion of the Thirty Third Anniversary of the founding of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), I am pleased to extend warm greetings and sincere good wishes to […]
An emergency meeting was called in Parliament and a committee consisting of only ruling party MPs passed the China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement. The 1000 page agreement was reviewed within 10 minutes, without any debate and in the absence of opposition MPs. Not even a single MP from opposition was informed about such a meeting or […]
The South Asian region’s political map is transforming phenomenally. The early counting from Nepal’s parliamentary elections, which concluded on Thursday, suggests that the Left Alliance, which comprises the country’s communist parties, is surging ahead and will form the next government in Kathmandu. The Left Alliance is notionally ‘pro-China’ in outlook. Simultaneously, the President of the Maldives, […]
Tourism minister Moosa Zameer pictured speaking at a ceremony. PHOTO/MIHAARU Tourism minister Moosa Zameer announced Thursday that a bill proposing to gain trust and protect passenger rights will be submitted to the parliament next year. In a speech given on the occasion of International Civil Aviation Day, Zameer stated that the government was constantly working […]
Aerial view of HDh Kulhudhuffushi shows ongoing land reclamation. Six hectares of land reclaimed from the western lagoon of Haa Dhaal atoll Kulhudhuffushi and other preparations are fully underway to commence development of the island’s new airport. The government-initiated project to develop a domestic airport in Kulhudhuffushi requires the reclamation of six hectares of the […]
Maldives’ president Abdulla Yameen (L-2) and first lady Fathimath Ibrahim (L) pictured with China’s president Xi Jinping (R-2) and first lady Peng Liyuan during Yameen’s first state visit to China. PHOTO/NEWS.CN The governments of the Maldives and China held official talks Thursday during which Chinese president Xi Jinping declared that the collaboration between the two […]
Ongoing reclamation of land to develop the link road between Hulhule and Hulhumale. PHOTO/HDC The Maldives and China on Thursday signed agreements to develop an Airport Economic Zone and a Joint Ocean Observation Station in the archipelago. The agreements were among 12 key contracts signed between the two countries during president Abdulla Yameen’s first state […]