On 16th December 2014, Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Ms. Gao Yan, and the Maldivian Minister of Economic Development Mr. Mohamed Saeed co-hosted the first meeting of China-Maldives Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Both sides made positive comments on the current situation of bilateral economic and trade relations, and engaged in friendly, candid and in-depth exchanges on issues such as the 21st century Maritime Silk Road , bilateral trade and investment , tourism cooperation, major projects, economic and technical cooperation and multilateral cooperation, and have reached broad consensus.
Vice Minister Gao Yan said that Maldives is China's good neighbor, good friend and good partner. Having established diplomatic relations 42 years ago, both China and Maldives have always maintained mutual respect, mutual trust, and mutual support. The development of bilateral relations remains a model for maintaining equality, friendly relations, and mutually beneficial cooperation between large and small nations. Over the years, China has been assisting the economic and social development of the Maldives wherever it can. Earlier this month, immediately after learning about the Male desalination plant fire, the Chinese government took urgent actions to airfreight several batches of drinking water and provided special financial assistance, in the hope that these would help ease the current difficulties faced by the Maldives to overcome the crisis. China is also pleased to see the deepening of bilateral economic and trade cooperation with the Maldives in recent years, which has become the spotlight of the friendly relations between China and the Maldives. In 2014, bilateral trade is expected to exceed $ 100 million. Chinese enterprises have shown increasing interests in investing in the Maldives. There is also rapid development in tourism cooperation, with China remaining the largest tourism market for Maldives for 4 consecutive years. China is willing to join hands with Maldives to build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, to promote the bilateral FTA work, and to constant enhance bilateral economic and trade relations.
Minister Saeed thanked China for its timely assistance to alleviate the water crisis in Male, and said that Maldives attaches great importance to China-Maldives economic and trade relations, and is willing to actively participate in establishing the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and hopes for early completion of China-Maldives FTA. Maldives will further strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with China through the important platform of China-Maldives Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation, hoping to increase export of Maldivian products like fish to China. Maldives welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, and is happy to work with China to promote the development of more infrastructure projects including China-Maldives Friendship Bridge.
After the meeting, Vice Minister Gao Yan and Minister Saeed signed the MOU between the Ministry of Trade of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Economic Development of the Republic of Maldives on Joint Construction of Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century under the Framework of China-Maldives Joint Committee for Economic and Trade Cooperation