FM Shahid Meets with Chinese Ambassador

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdullah Shahid, has met with the Chinese ambassador to the Maldives, Zhang Lizhong.

Following today's meeting, the Chinese ambassador tweeted that the meeting with the Foreign Minister was "a pleasure", and that views were exchanged on "a wide range of issues of mutual interest". He also said that he was hopeful about close co-operation between the two nations which would result in "more concrete benefits" this year.

The relationship between China and the Maldives has been strained since President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih assumed office. Given the outbreak of COVID-19, the Maldives could not properly benefit from Chinese aid because as India had not approved of such a relationship at the time.

High-ranking party officials of the now-ruling MDP had, prior to winning the presidency, been harsh critics of China and its government.