Pakistan and the Maldives signed 20 memorandums of understanding on Wednesday as President Dr Mohamed Muizzu wrapped up a three-day state visit to Islamabad, with both governments agreeing to push bilateral trade to $200 million within two years, up from roughly $13-14 million at present, according to The Express Tribune and Dawn.
Muizzu’s trip, made at Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s invitation, is the first by a Maldivian head of state to Pakistan in 11 years and coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries, established in 1966. The last state visit of this kind was by former president Abdulla Yameen in 2015.
| Area | Detail |
|---|---|
| MoUs signed | 20, spanning IT, cybersecurity and AI, health, defence and maritime security, agriculture and fisheries, education and vocational training, tourism, air connectivity, policing, civil service, narcotics control, and the environment |
| Trade target | $200 million within two years (up from about $13.9m per PM Shehbaz; Muizzu’s office cited roughly $13m) |
| Environment pledge | Pakistan to provide 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds of other plants toward Maldives’ goal of planting 5 million trees |
| Health cooperation | About 250 Pakistani doctors and paramedics already serve in the Maldives; Pakistan offered to send more |
| Business forum | Pakistan-Maldives Business Forum scheduled for Thursday, Oct 22 |
Announcing the outcome of the talks, Shehbaz said Islamabad would “do our best jointly to raise this bilateral trade quantum,” while Muizzu endorsed the target and said the two sides needed to move from paper to practice.
“Agreements are meaningful only when they produce results,” Muizzu said, adding that “for 60 years, Pakistan has stood as a trusted friend of the Maldives.”
On the tree-planting pledge, Muizzu described climate change as “a direct challenge to our security, our development and our future,” framing the olive and seed shipment as part of a broader adaptation push for the low-lying island nation. Shehbaz did not specify a delivery timeframe for the cuttings, saying only that it would be “mutually decided,” while Muizzu’s office put the plan on a five-year horizon — a minor discrepancy between the two readouts that does not affect the substance of the commitment.
Beyond the economic and climate agenda, Shehbaz briefed Muizzu on Pakistan’s position on Kashmir, citing relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and reiterated Islamabad’s objection to India’s April 2025 decision to hold the Indus Waters Treaty in abeyance, calling water “a red line for Pakistan” and warning that “any violation in this behalf will be regarded by Pakistan as an act of war,” per Dawn’s report. Muizzu, for his part, voiced support for Palestinian self-determination and said he backed efforts to revive SAARC, the regional bloc that has been largely dormant for years.
During the visit, Muizzu also met Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and held talks with President Asif Ali Zardari, and received an honorary doctorate in politics from the International Islamic University, Islamabad.
Our Opinion
Twenty MoUs in one visit sounds impressive, but the real test — as Muizzu himself acknowledged — is whether paper commitments translate into an actual tripling-plus of trade within two years; Pakistan has a long history of signing ambitious bilateral frameworks with smaller regional partners that quietly stall once the cameras leave, so the Business Forum on Thursday and whatever follow-up mechanism emerges from it will matter far more than Wednesday’s ceremony. The symbolism is still worth noting: at a moment when Islamabad’s ties with India and Afghanistan are strained, deepening a 60-year friendship with a small Indian Ocean state costs little and buys Pakistan a reliable, low-drama partner in a part of the world it rarely gets positive headlines from.
