Maldivian president confident in cooperation with China

Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed said Wednesday that he has no doubt that the traditional bounds of friendship and cooperation with China will continue to grow and expand in the years to come.

During the past 40 years, the relations between the Maldives and China, founded on mutual respect, shared principles and values and common understanding of issues of global importance, have grown from strength to strength, said Waheed at the function in Male to mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Waheed said contacts between the two countries go back to the Ming Dynasty of the ancient China and there is ample testimony of the length and strength of the relationship in the historic relics and records in the national museum.

He said the Maldives has always looked to China as an invaluable friend whose contribution to the social, cultural and economic development of the Maldives is immense, noting the contribution that China has made to housing development in the country along with other infrastructure projects

He said trade between the two countries has increased significantly in the past few years and China remains one of the largest trading partners of the Maldives.

He said China is currently the number one tourist market for the Maldives, hoping that the number of Chinese tourists will continue to increase.

The president said China continues to be a close partner of the Maldives in diverse spheres.

Chinese ambassador to the Maldives Yu Hongyao announced at the function that postal authorities of the two countries jointly issued a set of commemorative stamps to mark the 40th anniversary of China-Maldives diplomatic relations.

Yu said the year 2012 has also seen fast growth in the bilateral relations, showcased by the most regular exchanges at the top level, the most fruitful economic cooperation, and the fastest growing cultural and people-to-people exchanges.