The governments of the Maldives and China has decided to hold bilateral level discussions at the level of Director-General on December 10.
The Maldives delegation at the discussions will be led by Additional Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Amin Javed Faizal, while the Chinese delegation will be led by Deputy Director General at the Asian Affairs Department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China Chen Song.
Ministry of Foregn Affairs stated the meeting aims to enhance bilateral coordination between the two countries on mutual areas of cooperation, and will touch upon topics relating to the situation surrounding the COVID-19 global pandemic, economic recovery, including on tourism cooperation and international travel. The foreign ministry added that both countries will also discuss ways to further enhance bilateral cooperation and also cooperation at the multilateral level.
Furthermore, the foreign ministry said the Maldives is keen on continuing its bilateral dialogue with its developmental partners as the country embarks on a path of resilience and recovery following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic adding Maldives seeks to add momentum to its economic recovery efforts, especially on the resumption of tourism where China was the largest market prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Maldives.
China was among the first countries to offer its generous assistance to the Maldives relief efforts. It continues to cooperate closely with the Maldives Government on a wide range of issues of mutual interest.
Maldives and China regularly hold bilateral consultations, with the most recent one having taken place in July this year, also at the level of Director-General.