Tag: silk road

Silk road deal to be concluded in China-Maldives economic committee

The Maldives will officially join China’s Maritime Silk Road Project during the first ever China-Maldives joint commission on economy and trade in Beijing today.

A high level delegation of cabinet ministers left Malé yesterday evening (December 14), telling local media that the Maldives would officially join the trade route.

“With projects such as oil exploration and bridge construction in the agenda for discussion, the meeting will benefit economies of both countries. This is a great achievement to us as well,” Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed told Haveeru.

An MoU establishing a Joint Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation was one of a raft of agreements signed during the historic visit of President Xi Jinpeng in September.

The Maldivian delegation sent to Beijing also includes Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee, and Minister at the President’s Office Mohamed Hussein Shareef.

Shainee told media that discussions would be held with two Chinese companies regarding the search for oil, adding that the opportunity for neighbouring countries to join the search would be available.

India has already offered to assist in oil exploration within Maldivian territorial waters. The announcement that the administration of President Yameen would resume the Maldives’ decades-long search for oil was followed by a seismic survey by a German research vessel in August.

China’s Silk Road scheme is said to have caused concern in India, though Chinese state media has reported that more than 50 states have expressed willingness to join the project this year.

Shifting east

President Xi has repeatedly urged the Maldives to get involved in the trade route, which will link China to the east coast of Africa and the Mediterranean and is said to pass the Maldives’ northernmost atoll – the proposed site of the Ihavandhippolhu Integrated Development Project.

The ‘iHavan’ transshipment port – one of five mega-projects envisioned by the government – is designed to take advantage of the US$18 trillion worth of goods transported across the seven degree channel annually.

Attempts by the Yameen administration to attract foreign investors – which has included the introduction of the Special Economic Zones Act – have yet to result in any major deals, though China has signed agreements relating to the promotion of the Malé-Hulhulé bridge and the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

After a team of Chinese surveyors carried out a feasibility study into the bridge project last month, ministers last night told the press that they would seek to expedite the project while in Beijing.

Additionally, attempts would be made to secure deals for the development of the runway at INIA, the delegation explained. Consultants from Singapore’s Changi International Airport have been hired to oversee the development, with the tourism minister citing their experience working with Chinese contractors.

The delegation also explained that discussions would be held with China’s Ministry of Commerce regarding a free-trade areas, as well as discussing obtaining cheaper oil.

President Yameen has made clear his intention to further pursue already rapidly expanding ties with China, announcing a policy shift to the east while criticising the interference of western powers. China also accounts for one third of all tourists visiting the Maldives.

Yameen last week laid the foundations for 704 housing units in Hulhumalé, part of an arrangement for 1500 to be built by ‎the China Machinery Engineering Corporation as part of the further development of Hulhumalé – another of the government’s mega-projects.


Related to this story

Agreements on bridge and airport penned during Chinese president’s visit

Chinese President Xi Jinping calls for Maldives involvement in 21st century maritime silk road

President Yameen slams “Western colonial powers,” declares foreign policy shift to East

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China pledged assistance for bridge project, says President Yameen

The Chinese government has pledged assistance in building a bridge connecting the capital Malé and Hulhumalé, President Abdulla Yameen told the press last night upon returning from a visit to China.

“[Chinese President Xi Jinping] said let us form an economic council or committee. So we have come after determining representatives from our side on the joint committee,” Yameen told reporters at the airport.

Once the high-level joint commission is set up, Yameen said a feasibility study would be conducted with a team of Chinese engineers due to arrive this year.

The team would study the strength of ocean currents, he explained, which was necessary to determine the “strength of the structure” of the bridge as well as an estimated cost.

“When that is completed, the Chinese government informed us during the meetings that one of the contractors [that have expressed interest] would then begin work,” he said.

“So God willing, we hope work could begin very soon.”

The Chinese ambassador is due to arrive in the Maldives in a few days with a list of Chinese representatives on the joint commission, he revealed.

Yameen also said the likelihood of the bridge project being awarded to a Chinese company was “99 percent” and that “a large portion” of the project would be financed through free or concessional aid from China.

The Chinese president was meanwhile briefed about other ‘mega projects’ the government plans to commence, Yameen said, adding that “major Chinese contractors” would undertake the projects.

The Chinese government could ensure that loan facilities sought from the Chinese EXIM bank would be provided at a very low interest rate, he explained.

Meetings also took place between the Maldivian delegation and “large Chinese civil works companies,” Yameen noted.

Based on assurances from Xi Jinping, Yameen expressed confidence of receiving significant assistance from the Chinese government for the bridge project.

The Chinese government also provided MVR250 million (US$16 million) as grant aid during the president’s trip.

Diplomatic cooperation

Discussions also focused on “important matters for China in international diplomacy,” Yameen revealed, referring to the the Chinese ‘New Silk Road’ project, which he said was intended to foster economic relations and increase trade between China and Asia-Pacific nations.

“We requested participation in the Silk Road initiative and were immediately welcomed,” he said.

Yameen said he also invited the Chinese president to visit the Maldives for next year’s 50th anniversary of independence and Xi Jinping “promptly” accepted the invitation.

“So we believe [Sino-Maldives] relations are very good and [the Chinese government] was very well-prepared for our visit,” he added.

Yameen said the Maldives would back China in the international arena as the two countries shared “the same principles on a number of issues, especially concerning the Indian Ocean region, human rights and many such matters.”

He stressed, however, that the “main focus” of the discussions was the development projects envisioned by the government.

Asked if closer ties with China would adversely impact relations with India or Japan, Yameen said Sino-Maldives economic cooperation would not affect “the very friendly, close relations with India”.

“All these projects are also open to India and we are doing a lot of diplomatic work with India,” he said, referring to his administration’s decision not to sign a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with the United States as an example of cooperation.

On relations with Japan, Yameen noted that a project for the construction of a new terminal at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) would be jointly undertaken by the Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) and two Japanese companies.

“No country has expressed concern so far and I don’t believe they will either,” he said.

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China lends Maldives 100 million Yuan as free aid

The Presidents Office has announced China’s decision to lend 100 million Yuan (around MVR250 million or US$16 million) as free aid to the Maldives.

The agreement was signed yesterday (August 16), after President Abdullah Yameen departed on an official visit to China to attend the opening ceremony of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics, and to hold discussions with Chinese President, Xi Jinping.

In addition, an agreement was made to provide the Maldives Police Service with 150 motorcycles.

According to the statement, the grant aid is to be used for developmental projects in the Maldives.

At separate meetings held on Saturday afternoon, discussions were focused on the investment opportunities in Maldives, and the mega development projects proposed by the government.

Furthermore, Yameen met officials from Tuniu, one of China’s top travel agencies, and attended a lunch hosted by the group.

China Bridge

During the discussion on Saturday, Xi also conveyed his government’s ‎commitment to propel bilateral relations with the Maldives onto a higher ‎plane.

In addition, Yameen outlined the key ‎developmental projects envisaged for commencement in the time ahead, and ‎emphasised that no project is as important or pertinent as the Male-Hulhulé bridge.

Yameen expressed his satisfaction that the ‎interest of corporate China towards the bridge project and other key ‎economic manifesto projects. He went on to note that he desired in time, for ‎the new bridge to be known as the “China Bridge” to symbolise the friendly ‎ties between the two countries. ‎

Xi thanked Yameen for briefing him on his ‎economic agenda and assured that he would alert Chinese authorities to ‎collaborate closely with the Maldives in ensuring the key development ‎projects, including the bridge can be implemented with due urgency.

Silk Road

Yameen noted that the Maldives had always been a ‎standing supporter of the one-China policy and the Five Principals of ‎Peaceful Coexistence governing relations between states. He also commended President Xi on his 21st Century ‎Maritime Silk Road. ‎

In return, Xi noted that the Maldives would feature among ‎the countries that are included within the Silk Road sphere.

Referring to the Chinese ‘New Silk Road’ project, Yameen told reporters prior to the trip that the government was “very interested” in participating in the initiative.

Yameen also revealed that a number of bilateral agreements would be signed during the visit, including a framework agreement on trade assistance, while Chinese assistance in providing police vehicles would be “formalised”.

Chinese news agency Xinhua reported yesterday that China’s maritime ‘Silk Route’ would pass through the Ihavandhippolhu Integrated Development Project – or ‘iHavan’ – in the northernmost atoll in the Maldives.

“The design of the project seeks to capitalise on the location of the atoll, which lies on the seven-degree channel through which the main East-West shipping routes connecting Southeast Asia and China to the Middle East and Europe,” reported Xinhua.

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