On July 14, Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives H.E. Mr. Kong Xianhua paid courtesy call on Dr. Maryam Mariya, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare  of the Maldives and signed the Implementation Agreement for the Assistance Project on Coconut Tree Pest Control in Maldives.

Ambassador Kong said that in recent years, the relations between the two countries have continued to develop and cooperation in various fields has been constantly advanced. Early last year, President Muizzu successfully visited China and the two countries established China-Maldives comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, marking a new stage in bilateral relations. The China-Maldives Free Trade Agreement was successfully implemented at the beginning of this year. It is believed that the two countries will take this opportunity to further strengthen trade cooperation in the agricultural sector. The signing of the agreement marks a solid step forward in agricultural cooperation between the two countries. Food security is of vital importance to  agricultural security of Maldives. China will continue to closely cooperate with Maldives in the fields of agricultural security and sustainable agricultural development.

Maryam expressed her gratitude to China for its long-term valuable support for the development of agriculture and other fields in Maldives. She expressed her willingness to work together with China to continue strengthening agricultural cooperation between the two countries and constantly learn from China's advanced experience in agriculture.