Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Wang Fukang has said the China Belt and Road Initiative will be beneficial for the Maldives’ economy.
He made the remarks at a seminar on the Belt and Road Initiative.
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China, which linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce. As the Silk Road was not a single thoroughfare from east to west, the term 'Silk Routes’ has become increasingly favoured by historians, though 'Silk Road’ is the more common and recognized name.
The network was used regularly from 130 BCE, when the Han officially opened trade with the west, to 1453 CE, when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with the west and closed the routes.
While many different kinds of merchandise travelled along the Silk Road, the name comes from the popularity of Chinese silk with the west, especially with Rome. The Silk Road routes stretched from China through India, Asia Minor, up throughout Mesopotamia, to Egypt, the African continent, Greece, Rome, and Britain.
The Belt and Road Initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, a significant development strategy launched by the Chinese government with the intention of promoting economic co-operation among countries along the proposed Belt and Road routes. The Initiative has been designed to enhance the orderly free flow of economic factors and the efficient allocation of resources. It is also intended to further market integration and create a regional economic co-operation framework of benefit to all.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom expressed interest in joining the China Belt and Road Initiative in August 2014, citing that the initiative will be economically beneficial for the Maldives. China has promised to spend over MVR 2.5 trillion over the next ten years on infrastructure development projects of countries in the Silk Road belt.
Shortly after Maldives joined the Belt and Road Initiative, some of the biggest infrastructure development projects in the country, the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge project and the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport expansion project were initiated.
China has also been providing financial support to further develop the education, health and sport sectors.
In addition, both countries are currently making final preparations to sign a Free Trade Agreement.