Ambassadors of India, China call on Maldives Foreign Minister

Akhilesh Mishra, the Indian Ambassador to the Maldives, called on the newly-appointed Foreign Minister of the Maldives, Abdulla Shahid, on Monday.

"Ambassador of #India to the Maldives H.E. Mr. Akilesh Mishra calls on Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid. Discussed close cooperation between India and the Maldives, and upcoming visit to Delhi by the Minister," the official Twitter account of the Maldives' Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted.

On the same day, the Ambassador of China to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong met with the Foreign Minister in a separate meeting.

"Ambassador of #China to the Maldives H.E. Mr. Zhang Lizhong calls on Minister of Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid. Discussed on-going Chinese projects in the #Maldives and future cooperation including Minister's upcoming visit to Beijing," the official handle further tweeted.

The meeting between Shahid and Zhang come amidst media reports which state that the Maldives is set to pull out from the Free Trade Deal (FTA) that had been signed with China under previous President Abdullah Yameen's regime.

The visit by the high-ranking officials come after Shahid was appointed as the island nation's Minister of Foreign Affairs on November 17, the very same day that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had been sworn in at a ceremony attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.