President Waheed meets Premier of China

President Dr. Mohamed Waheed has yesterday met with Wen Jiabao, Priemer of China.

At the meeting, President Waheed expressed his appreciation to Premier Wen Jiabao for the long standing close relations between the Maldives and China. He further added that as the two countries celebrate the 40^thanniversary of diplomatic relations, he is confident that the relationsbetween the two countries will continue to grow from strength to strength.

Noting the significant increase in the level of grant aid from China toMaldives in the recent years, the President also expressed his gratitude for China's continued assistance and support to the socio-economic development of the Maldives. He also thanked the Government of China for the facilitation of the concessional loans towards housing development in the Maldives which is a priority for the Government of Maldives.  

At the meeting, discussions were also held on ways to further enhance cooperation in various sectors between the twocountries,  including promotion tourism of Maldives in China.

Following the official talks President Dr Mohamed Waheed and Premier Mr Wen Jiabao, witnessed the signing ceremony of the agreement on economic andtechnical cooperation through which the Government of China will provide Renminbi Yuan 100 million as grant assistance to Maldives. Two further agreements regarding the provision of a concessional loan of Renminbi Yuan 982,500,000 for housing development were also signed during the ceremony.