The Maldives and China exchanged 20 agreements during Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s state visit to Beijing on January 10, 2024. The leaders presided over the signing ceremony. One memorandum calls for the countries to accelerate the formulation of a cooperation plan under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); the announcement is a planning commitment, not confirmation that a particular project was funded or completed.
What does the BRI agreement say?
The BRI document is a memorandum between the Maldives’ Ministry of Economic Development and Trade and China’s National Development and Reform Commission. It says the parties will jointly accelerate formulation of a cooperation plan on the BRI. The detailed account was published by The Edition on January 10, 2024, attributing the agreement list to the Maldivian President’s Office: The Edition’s report on the agreements.
That wording describes cooperation on planning. It does not, by itself, establish that the memorandum commits money to a named project, that financing has been secured, or that construction or delivery has occurred. The countries’ January 2024 joint communiqué said the Maldives appreciates the BRI and noted that the two sides signed BRI cooperation documents within a broader package. That is the communiqué’s characterization of the relationship, not evidence of project outcomes: Joint Press Communiqué, January 11, 2024.
What areas do the 20 agreements cover?
The official event count was 20 agreements, according to the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Key Agreements exchanged between the Maldives and China. The detailed list attributed to the President’s Office includes several kinds of documents—not just memoranda—and covers the following subjects:
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- Disaster-risk reduction: cooperation between the Maldives’ National Disaster Management Authority and China’s Ministry of Emergency Management.
- Marine and blue-economy cooperation: a commitment to deepen blue-economy cooperation and a separate marine-cooperation memorandum aimed toward a Blue Partnership.
- Digital and green development: investment cooperation in the digital economy and digital-data economy, investment cooperation in green development, and cooperation on green, low-carbon development.
- BRI and economic policy: formulation of a BRI cooperation plan and exchanges on economic-development policy.
- People and skills: human-resource development cooperation.
- Agriculture and quarantine: agricultural cooperation and technical cooperation on entry and exit animal and plant quarantine.
- Infrastructure and related projects named in a memorandum: Fushidhiggarufalhu, expansion of Velana International Airport, fisheries-product processing factories, and road-development projects in Malé and Villimalé.
- Tourism: tourism cooperation.
- Media: news cooperation between Public Service Media and Xinhua News Agency, plus a separate cooperation memorandum between Public Service Media and China Media Group.
- Health and agriculture assistance: a letter of exchange concerning a coconut-tree pest-control assistance project and another concerning a feasibility study for laboratory equipment for 17 health facilities.
- Bilateral partnership and assistance: a 2024–2028 action plan for building a China–Maldives Comprehensive Strategic Cooperative Partnership, as well as grant assistance.
This is a summary of the subjects reported in the detailed list, not a claim that each bullet corresponds to exactly one of the 20 agreements. The reported count encompasses different document forms, including an action plan, letters of exchange, and grant assistance; calling them “20 projects” would overstate what was announced.
Were specific projects funded?
The reported list says a memorandum concerns several named infrastructure and development projects, but it does not establish that those projects received funding or were completed. The same distinction applies to the laboratory-equipment feasibility study: an agreement to study feasibility is not confirmation that equipment was purchased or installed. Grant assistance is listed, but the available announcement does not specify an amount or connect the grant to each named project. Readers should therefore treat the announcements as evidence of agreed cooperation areas and document purposes, not as proof of financing, construction, or delivery.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What else did the presidents discuss?
After the signing, the presidents held official talks. The Maldivian Foreign Ministry’s account says Muizzu thanked China for assistance in social housing, higher education, and infrastructure, and that the leaders discussed tourism and air connectivity alongside blue, green, and digital economies: The Maldives and China hold official talks. These are descriptions in the ministry’s account of the talks.
The January 2024 package followed an earlier round of agreements in December 2017. The Maldives President’s Office then listed 12 agreements, including a memorandum on cooperation within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative, as well as a China–Maldives free trade agreement: Key Agreements signed between the Maldives and China, December 7, 2017. That earlier announcement provides context for a longer history of BRI-related cooperation, but does not establish implementation outcomes.
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