Xi meets Maldives Prez Muizzu, urges stronger ties via FTA implementation

Chinese President Xi Jinping met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu here on Sunday and called for deepening bilateral ties with effective implementation of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit being held here on Sunday.

The Maldives is a Dialogue Partner of the 10-member SCO bloc.

Xi told Muizzu that the two countries have achieved positive progress in advancing Belt and Road cooperation, and China will continue to deepen practical cooperation with the Maldives to ensure the effective implementation of the China-Maldives FTA. 

Both countries should advance cooperation in areas including fisheries, marine scientific research, environmental protection, as well as disaster prevention and reduction, he said.

For his part, Muizzu said the Maldives is willing to work with China to expand cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, housing construction and tourism, and to strengthen coordination and collaboration within multilateral mechanisms including the SCO, state-run Xinhua news agency.

This is Muizzu's second visit to China.

He visited China in January last year, soon after his election campaign, during which he pushed an India Out' agenda calling for the withdrawal of Indian personnel operating helicopter medical services and Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft.

In the subsequent months, he has normalised relations with India after New Delhi replaced the crew with civilians and provided substantial economic assistance to help the Maldives ward off a forex crisis.

Muizzu visited India in June to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.