The Maldives expressed its “keen interest” to seek foreign ministers-level dialogue with China in a virtual meeting that took place on Thursday between the representatives of the two nations at the level of director-general. Significantly, Maldives also discussed the issue of an early resumption of tourism with China, one of its largest markets.

“China remains one of the most important development partners of the Maldives, and  [Maldives] expressed hope that flights, trade, and connectivity between the two countries would be restored at the earliest possible,” read a statement from the Maldives’ foreign ministry. 

Significantly, the Maldives used to receive the highest tourist arrival from China in the pre-Covid-19 time. In 2019, there used to be around 26 direct flights in a week between the two nations.

According to the statement, the two sides discussed economic recovery, prevention of the COVID-19 pandemic, and resumption of trade and connectivity, and ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation between the two nations. 

“Both countries agreed to explore new avenues of cooperation in the field of climate change, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and on economic and financial cooperation,” Maldives said in the statement. 

Amin Zaved Faizal, additional secretary at the Maldives’s foreign ministry, attended the meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Chen Sang, the deputy director-general at the Chinese foreign ministry. 

Furthermore,  Faizal appreciated the Chinese government and enterprises for their generous assistance offered to the Maldives during the pandemic. In the statement, the Maldives also “reiterated and reaffirmed” its “unwavering and firm commitment to One China Policy.”  

Calling the Maldives “an important partner,” the head of the Chinese delegation appreciated the support they received from the Maldives at the international level. He said both countries enjoy “close relation and coordination” at the international level and will further deepen the ties.  
 
Interestingly, the director-general level dialogue comes around a week after the Maldives’s foreign minister Abdullah Shaid held talks with Chinese and Indian envoys separately on 1 December. Prior to that, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh V Shringla undertook a two-day trip to the Maldives last month. 

In the post-Covid-19 situation where the Maldives- a tourism-dependent economy- is looking for economic recovery, China holds a great significance for it. Firstly, it seeks resumption of tourism from China to give a much-needed boost to its tourism industry while on the other end the Maldives also looking for the restructuring of the Chinese infrastructural debts. 

By all accounts, the chances of the Maldives being able to repay its debt installment in 2021 looks bleak. Fitch Ratings had also projected the possibility of the country defaulting on its debt obligation the next year. 

Earlier, Maldives’s speaker Mahammad Nasheed had repeatedly called on his government to negotiate the restructuring of the Chinese debt as the country would not be able to pay its dues next year.