All agreements signed by the Economic Ministry among 20 agreements penned during President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's state visit to China with a high-level delegation last month have been classified.
The Economic Ministry signed four agreements with China. The agreements were signed on behalf of the Maldives by Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed.
The ministry refused to disclose details when Adhadhu sought information about the four agreements separately under the right to information law.
The ministry refused to comply with four separate requests by citing article 31 of the law, claiming obstruction of government policy.
"We note that [the requested information] is information of the kind stated in article 31 clause 1 and 2 in chapter seven of the right to information law," the ministry said in all four responses.
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Adhadhu has appealed for a review of the decision by the Economic Ministry's review committee.
The classification of the four agreements signed by the Maldives Economic Ministry comes after China also refused to disclose further details of the 20 agreements signed during the President's visit.
"We appreciate your interest in the Maldivian President’s state visit to China. We’ve released the readout and I have no additional information to offer," Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said on January 11, 2024 in response to a question from AFP.
Despite China's refusal to provide details, the Maldives government previously said it will disclose details of the agreements signed with China. However, a specific date was not provided.
The four agreements made confidential by the Economic Ministry are:
- Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Exchange and Cooperation in the Field of Economic Development Policy
- MoU on Strengthening Digital Economy Cooperation
- MoU on Jointly Accelerating the Formulation of the Cooperation Plan on the Belt and Road Initiative
- MoU on Promoting Investment Cooperation in Green Development
