Statement by His Excellency Dr Abdulla Khaleel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, at the High-level Meeting of the Global Development Initiative: Recommit to Our Original Aspirations, United to Build a Brighter Future of Global Development
23 September 2025, New York
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Li Qiang,
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I extend best wishes and sincere appreciation to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, for your leadership in promoting the Global Development Initiative, and for hosting this important meeting.
We are just five years away from the deadline for the 2030 Agenda. However, we are severely off-track.
Greater South-South cooperation can reignite our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
In the Maldives, we recognised the importance of resilient infrastructure to strengthen our economy, and to strengthen our resilience against climate change.
In this regard, we note the generous assistance we have received from the Government of China, and from Chinese companies in the Maldives, to construct landmark infrastructure projects across the country.
When the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge was opened in 2018, it connected the Maldives primary international airport, the Velana International Airport to the Maldives capital city, Malé. The bridge significantly improved the quality of life of the people living in the Greater Malé Area. This is evident as over 20,000 people are estimated to use the bridge daily. Almost a quarter of the population of the Greater Malé Area.
The bridge also connected Malé to Hulhumalé, where thanks to Chinese grant assistance, the Maldives has been able to construct over 7,000 social housing units. These housing units are an affordable and quality solution to the housing crisis in the Maldives. Today, over 22,000 people live in the Chinese built social housing units.
The Maldives has also been a strong advocate for building state and productive capacity to achieve sustainable development. Hundreds of Maldivians receive scholarships every year, to train in a variety of fields in China. From medicine, to engineering and information technology, Maldivians have found high quality education and training in China.
This Maldives-China partnership is one based on mutual trust, friendship, and a view towards achieving win-win outcomes.
The Maldives has recognised the importance of artificial intelligence as a tool for achieving development. This is why, we are investing in improving our digital infrastructure, bridging digital divides, including by increasing digital literacy, with a focus on developing literacy in artificial intelligence.
We see artificial intelligence as a tool that enhances our lived experiences and can help us achieve sustainable development. This is why the Maldives co-sponsored and supported the Resolution entitled “Enhancing International Cooperation on Capacity-building of Artificial Intelligence”.
Through greater international cooperation, including through exchange of technology, knowledge and know-how, we will be able to build stronger, more efficient artificial intelligence tools, that can improve our lives, and help us achieve sustainable development.
Unsustainable debt continues to be an obstacle to development. In fact, according to the World Bank, over 60 developing countries are considered to be in or at risk of debt distress.
This is why, the Maldives has been promoting innovative debt solutions, including debt relief for resilience building mechanisms, and debt swaps for sustainable development mechanisms. We hope that this is an area where developing countries can work together, to achieve our shared future.
The Maldives remains committed to promoting the Global Development Initiative and to fostering greater collaboration and cooperation between developing countries.
I thank you.
