Meedhoo MP and Leader of government coalition party Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, has said that the relations between China and Maldives will strengthen further in the coming years.
Siyam made this remark during a visit by a team of MPs yesterday to Chinese navy ship Chang Xing Dao, which supplied water to the Maldives following the water shortage due to a fire at Maldives Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) on 4 December.
During his meeting with the senior officials of the ship, Siyam expressed his gratitude on behalf of the people of Male’ for the emergency water supply.
He referred to China’s Maritime Silk Route project, which the Maldives joined recently, and said that the benefits of this project would be seen in China, Maldives, and throughout Asia.
Siyam also thanked the government of China greenlighting the provision of assistance to the Male’-Hulhule’ bridge project.
During the meeting, Parliamentary Group Leader of ruling party, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and Vilimale’ MP, Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik, highlighted that the China-Maldives relations have strengthened under the leadership of Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen and Chinese President Xi Jinping, 40 years after formal bilateral relations were established between the two countries.
As part of their tour yesterday, the government coalition parliamentary team also visited Indian navy ship INS Deepak, the first ship to arrive in the Maldives with emergency water supply.
Speaking at the ceremony on INS Deepak, Siyam thanked the Indian government on behalf of the Maldivian government, MDA, and the people of Maldives, and said that the relations between Maldives and India would continue to strengthen under the current government.
Speaking at the ceremony, Nihan noted that India was the first country to assist Maldives following the water shortage, and expressed his gratitude to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.