ISLAMABAD, Oct 21 (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday announced that Pakistan and the Maldives had agreed to increase the volume of their bilateral trade from around $13.9 million to $200 million within the next two years, opening new avenues of shared prosperity for the peoples of the two countries.
Addressing a joint press stakeout alongside Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu, the prime minister said the existing trade volume represented only a fraction of the economic potential of the two brotherly countries.
Earlier the two sides also signed 20 memoranda of understanding (MoUs) and agreements to strengthen cooperation in multiple sectors.
PM Shehbaz Sharif said both sides would make joint efforts to achieve the ambitious target through enhanced economic cooperation and the effective implementation of agreements signed during the visit.
The prime minister said the 20 MoUs and agreements covered important areas of bilateral cooperation and assured that he would personally work with the Maldivian president to ensure their timely implementation.
Welcoming the Maldivian president to Pakistan on his first visit to the country in 11 years, the prime minister said the visit coincided with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
He said the two sides had held productive discussions on trade, investment, strategic defence cooperation, education, health, policing and capacity building, besides exchanging views on regional and international issues.
He noted that many Maldivian students had received education at Pakistani universities and colleges, particularly in the health sector. Around 250 Pakistani doctors, along with paramedical staff, were serving in the Maldives, he added, expressing Pakistan’s willingness to expand medical and professional support according to the country’s requirements.
As part of environmental cooperation, Pakistan would provide 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds of different plant species to support the Maldives’ initiative to plant five million trees, the prime minister announced.
He also offered Pakistan’s technical expertise to the Maldives in various fields, including information technology and the establishment of data centres, saying Pakistan had developed professional capabilities in this area.
The prime minister congratulated President Muizzu on the honorary doctorate conferred upon him by the International Islamic University Islamabad in recognition of his leadership and public service.
On regional and international matters, the prime minister appreciated the Maldives’ steadfast support for the Palestinian cause and reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination and the establishment of an independent, sovereign and contiguous state of Palestine in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions.
He reiterated that Jammu and Kashmir remained an internationally recognised dispute, whose just resolution must come in line with UN Security Council resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.
Expressing serious concern over India’s decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, the prime minister said legally binding international agreements must be respected and shared water resources should never be weaponised or used as a tool of political pressure.
“Water is a lifeline for humanity and more so for lower riparian,” he said, adding that any violation in this regard would be regarded by Pakistan as an act of war.
For his part, President Muizzu thanked the Pakistani leadership and people for their warm hospitality, saying the visit offered an opportunity to build a new era of partnership on the foundations of six decades of friendship.
He endorsed the target of increasing bilateral trade to $200 million within two years and said both countries would work to expand trade and investment, strengthen connectivity and promote tourism cooperation.
The Maldivian president said the agreements would open new avenues for cooperation in health, education, fisheries, agriculture, youth, tourism, information technology, policing and defence, stressing that their success would depend on translating commitments into tangible benefits for the people.
He also highlighted plans to expand scholarships, training and professional opportunities for Maldivian youth, including cooperation in artificial intelligence, digitalisation, skills development and emerging technologies.
Welcoming Pakistan’s support for the Maldives’ tree-planting initiative, President Muizzu said climate change posed a direct challenge to his country’s security, development and future, and called for stronger cooperation in environmental conservation, renewable energy and climate resilience.
He reaffirmed the Maldives’ solidarity with the Palestinian people and their right to an independent and sovereign state based on pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
He expressed confidence that the agreements reached would further strengthen bilateral relations and create greater opportunities, prosperity and mutual benefits for the peoples of Pakistan and the Maldives.