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Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Wang Lixin at the 2024 “Happy Chinese New Year” Cultural Performance

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2 months ago

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Honorable Mrs. Sajidha Mohamed, First Lady of the Republic of Maldives,

Honorable Mr. Ahmed Munaz, State Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts，

Honorable Ministers, MPs, party leaders,

Your Excellencies, Distinguished guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Very good evening.

First of all, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to all of you gathering here tonight for the “Happy Chinese New Year” Cultural Performance, celebrating the Chinese New Year of the Dragon. In particular, I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the First Lady Honorable Mrs. Sajidha Mohamed for gracing this occasion as Guest of Honor.

The Spring Festival, a happy time for family reunion, is China’s most important traditional festival. Its cultural significance has gone beyond borders. It has now become a celebrated holiday in many countries. In December 2023, the United Nations officially listed Spring Festival as a UN holiday, highlighting its global resonance. The Spring Festival of the Year of the Dragon offers the world a window on China’s economic vibrancy. During the just-ended 8-day Spring Festival holiday, China’s domestic tourism market saw 474 million trips, marking a 19 percent increase comparing with the same period in 2019. China’s domestic tourism spending hit 632.6 billion yuan, up by 7.7 percent from the same holiday period in 2019. China’s box office revenue in the 8-day holiday totaled 8 billion yuan, marking a new record high. Meanwhile, China saw around 13.52 million inbound and outbound trips during the holiday, marking a 3-fold increase from the same holiday period last year. The booming outbound travel also brought dividends of the holiday consumption and joy of the Lunar New Year to the world, including Maldives. A large number of Chinese tourists have come here for Spring Festival holidays.

As we embark on the Year of the Dragon, symbolizing auspiciousness, wisdom and strength, I’d like to extend my sincere wishes for happiness, prosperity and good fortune to all of you.

The year 2023 has witnessed continuous progress and fruitful outcomes in China-Maldives relations. H.E. State Councilor Shen Yiqin, special envoy of President Xi Jinping, attended the inauguration ceremony of President Muizzu and visited the Maldives, opening a new chapter in China-Maldives relations. At the invitation of President Xi Jinping, President Muizzu paid a successful state visit to China early last month. The two heads of state announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, providing strategic guidance and drawing a grand blueprint for future development of China-Maldives relations.

Over the past year, Our two nations have maintained close high-level exchanges, fostered ever-enhancing political mutual trust, achieved steady and sustained progress in high-quality BRI cooperation, and conducted vibrant cooperation on local government and people-to-people exchanges. In particular, with the gradual opening and resumption of direct flights between China and the Maldives, China has re-established its position as one of the leading source markets of tourists. Friendly cooperation between China and the Maldives is ushering in broad prospects, and we have full confidence in the bright future of our bilateral relations.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear friends,

Culture, as a vital bridge of friendship between our two peoples, plays a pivotal role in sustaining and enhancing China-Maldives relations. The cultural performance tonight will offer you a glimpse of the richness and diversity of Chinese culture, foster greater appreciation and understanding of China’s cultural heritage and modern dynamism.

I would like to take this opportunity to express sincere thanks to the cultural troupe from Chongqing, a beautiful and municipal city of China, which is also famous for hot pot. Carrying forward excellent traditional Chinese culture, their performance will definitely sow the seeds for China-Maldives friendship, make positive contribution to promoting cultural exchanges and enhance people-to-people friendship between our two countries.

My heartfelt thanks also go to Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information, and Arts and National Center for Arts for their strong support to make this show happen. Meanwhile, my thanks go to the Maldivian artists who will join the performance and make it more colorful. I believe that the artists from China and the Maldives will jointly present a culture feast to us.

In conclusion, I wish the “Happy Chinese New Year” Cultural Performance a complete success and the friendship between China and the Maldives grow stronger and stronger.

Thank you!

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Travel & Culture

MMPRC promotes Maldives at KITF

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2 days ago

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26/04/2024

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Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) has begun promoting the Maldives in the Kazakistan International Travel Fair (KITF). A total of 17 companies within the Maldivian tourism industry have participated in the fair along with MMPRC.

KITF is a significant, well-renowned fair hosted in Central Asia since 2001. The fair serves as a crucial platform to expand tourism industries across the world, enhancing more opportunities within the field. This year, the fair is scheduled to be held from April 24 to 26.

MMPRC revealed that the expo intends to establish and bolster ties with Kazakistan and agents in the central region of Asia, while displaying various merchandise from representing the Maldives in a global manner. It further affirmed that maximum efforts will be exerted to provide tourists with the latest information and to showcase the destinations and previous experiences, aiming to attract more tourist arrivals. Additionally, it stated that opportunities are available to establish collaborative partnership ties.

The stand of the Maldives placed in the KITF represents the true sunny side of life. Emphasising the significance of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the MMPRC assured that it is actively involved in promoting and advertising the Maldives to the CIS region through various activities and events. It further stated the significance of using social media as a tool to advertise the Maldives and attract more viewers.

Source(s): PsmNews

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Travel & Culture

Maldives welcomes over 700,000 tourists

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Published

4 days ago

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24/04/2024

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Ministry of Tourism has revealed more than 700,000 tourists have visited the country so far.

The latest statistics published by the tourism ministry show that a total of 728,950 tourist arrivals visited the Maldives between January 1 and April 21, which is an increase of 13.1% compared to the 644,721 arrivals during the same period last year. The statistics show that a total of 192,385 tourists visited the Maldives in January, 217,392 arrivals in February, 194,227 in March and 124,946 arrivals till April 21.

The latest updated report reveals that Chinese tourists constitute the largest portion of total tourist arrivals so far this year, with 77،709 visitors. Following China, the United Kingdom, and Russia along with Italy and Germany, stand out as the next highest sources of tourists, with 72,635 and 72,336, 66,170 and 57,321 arrivals, respectively. Currently, Maldives receives an average of 6451 tourists every day, which spend an average of 7.9 days in the country.

Aiming to expand the tourism industry, the bed capacity has been increased with a total of 62,232 beds. This includes resorts, guest houses, hotels and safaris as well.

Source(s): PsmNews

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Travel & Culture

Maldivian’s Male’-Colombo route launches on Thursday

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Published

6 days ago

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22/04/2024

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Maldivian, the flag carrier of the Maldives, is set to launch flights to the Bandaranaike International Airport in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, on Thursday.

The starting fare is USD 165, including a baggage allowance of 30 kilos and an attractive meal package.

According to Maldivian, it will operate two weekly flights on the Male’-Colombo route; on Thursdays and Saturdays.

The flight schedule is perfect for weekend getaways, allowing passengers to depart after work on Thursday and return on Saturday, maximizing their time in Sri Lanka without complicated itineraries.

The airline is offering exclusive benefits to customers from the Nawaloka Hospital. This includes:

  • Medical consultation and medical history evaluation (with a medical doctor)
  • Body mass index test and vision test
  • Dental check-ups
  • Consultation with clinical dietician
  • 15% discount for laboratory tests (OPD basis)
  • 5% discount for x-ray
  • Special discounted health screening packages

Unlike most budget carriers that focus on keeping fares low, Maldivian Airline goes the extra mile to enhance the travel experience, providing a complimentary meal on board, ensuring that passengers arrive in Colombo feeling satisfied and ready to explore.

The airline also offers an attractive offer of flying with a 30-kg baggage allowance for even the lowest fare of USD 165, eliminating the need to pay extra fees or travel light, ensuring travelers can pack everything they need for their trip within the limit, and avoid surprise baggage charges commonly imposed by budget airlines.

Th airline also offers elderly care and a seamless travel experience with multilingual staff, including Dhivehi and English speakers, ensuring clear communication and assistance for passengers of all levels of experience, making the journey comfortable and stress-free.

According to Maldivian, the new route to Colombo represents an exciting milestone for both Maldivian and the travelers seeking seamless connectivity between the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

The airline said the strategic expansion further solidifies Maldivian’s commitment to connecting the Maldives with key international destinations, enhancing travel options for passengers, and promoting cultural and economic exchanges.

Source(s): sun.mv

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