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A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.

China

Negotiations launching of China - Maldives FTA

Benefits from China – Maldives FTA

3 min read

The original Dhivehi article was published on Avas.mv website on 30th March 2017. The following is a loose translation: The decision to make a Maldives – China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) was taken in December 2014, in China. And to see if this was feasible, experts from both sides met on 4 February 2015. And […]

Made in “China – Maldives” free trade agreement

Made in “China – Maldives” free trade agreement

4 min read

On 29 November, Abdulla Maseeh Speaker of Parliament called for an emergency sitting, to pass the FTA with China. 1000 page Agreement was sent to the Parliamentary oversight committee on national security affairs within 3 minutes of submission to the floor. The Committee reviews the Agreement took less than 10 minutes behind the close door […]

IGMH 25 storey

IGMH building USD 142 mn, Hulhumalé towers USD 27 mn

2 min read

The original Dhivehi article was published on Vfp.mv website on 23rd November 2017. The following is a loose translation: Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)’s 25-storey building is the first building to stand that tall in the Maldives. However, the way the construction of the building was awarded and the project cost raises suspicion and foul […]

President Yameen meeting the Chinese Ambassador

Maldives foreign relations: China > US-India

5 min read

The original Dhivehi article was published on Mihaaru.com website on 6th November 2017. The following is a loose translation: Even though, Maldives is small, there are important reasons why foreign big nations are interested in the Maldives. The biggest reason is that of the geographical location of the Maldives. It is in an important shipping […]

Yameen Republic day

Maldives: Will President Yameen Now Tick Off India And US Too? – Analysis

8 min read

Days after senior Indian and US diplomats met in New Delhi to discuss the Maldives situation, President Abdulla Yameen warned of ‘ideological warfare and malicious economic schemes’ against his country. Between the India-US consultations and Yameen’s Republic Day speech on 11 November, aides openly named Sri Lanka for allegedly assisting the Maldivian Opposition’s coup bid […]

No Chinese, no business: The Peking Pound and the Maldives

No Chinese, no business: The Peking Pound and the Maldives

4 min read

On a Thursday evening, fishermen from the local market push buckets of fish guts to the low-lying seawall north-west of the capital, tipping the remains into the sea. Around a dozen whiptail stingrays, lured by the easy meal, scamper to the surface of the ocean for the feast. Ming Yang Hi and his wife follow […]

Maldives issues sovereign guarantee for US$370 million Chinese loan

Maldives issues sovereign guarantee for US$370 million Chinese loan

2 min read

The Maldives has issued a sovereign guarantee for a US$370 million (MVR5.6 billion) loan for the development of 7,000 housing units in the capital’s suburb Hulhumalé. The development of the housing units, by China Construction Company Limited, is financed by the Industrial Commercial Bank of China. The government’s decision to issue a sovereign guarantee for […]

Saudi Arabia on course in big Maldives investment program

Saudi Arabia on course in big Maldives investment program

6 min read

NEW YORK: Speaking on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York last week, Mohamed Shainee said that relations between the Republic of Maldives and Saudi Arabia are “at their best for a very long time” — and he should know. Shainee is the Maldives minister for fisheries and agriculture, two important parts […]