President arrives in China on state visit

President Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed arrived in China on Monday morning.

The president and first lady are on a state visit to China, at the invitation of the President of China, Xi Jinping.

The president and the first lady were greeted by senior Chinese officials upon their arrival.

During this visit, the Maldivian and Chinese governments will hold official talks and sign key agreements to improve trade, professional, and socioeconomic development in the Maldives. The visit aims to pave the way for technological and other collaborations between the two countries.

Additionally, the president will meet with senior Chinese government officials, attend the Invest Maldives Forum, and have meetings with senior Chinese business leaders to explore avenues of mutual collaborations in investments and trade between the Maldives and China.

A high-level delegation is accompanying the president and the first lady on the visit. This is President Muizzu's first state visit, following his assumption of office on November 17.

Traditionally Maldivian presidents had visited India on their first official or state visit, but President Muizzu broke tradition when he visited Türkiye in late November on his first official visit. 

He is yet to visit India, but met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of COP28 climate summit in Dubai in early December. 

President Mohamed Muizzu won the presidential election in September, ousting Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a runoff after promising to remove a small Indian military presence of some 77 personnel.

The new government, which came to power on November 17, has formally requested India to remove its troops, with President Muizzu saying that India has agreed to withdraw the troops. 

Maldives has also given notice to India to not renew a hydrography agreement signed by the previous government, giving access to India to study and chart the island nation's seabed.

The agreement will terminate when it expires on June 4, 2024, the government has said.