President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, on Thursday, incepted a state-owned establishment designated as Development Bank of Maldives Limited.

The state-owned company, where the government holds 100 percent shares, was established under authority granted to the President by Section 15 of the Companies Act (Act No. 7/2023).

According to the President’s Office, the company was formed in alignment with the government’s policies, including the funding of infrastructure projects, investing in sustainable economic and social development, addressing the difficulties associated with financing PSIP projects through syndicated financing, and fostering a greater interest in maintaining foreign exchange within the nation’s banking system.

The registered address of the company is Ministry of Finance, Ameenee Magu, 20379, Male, Maldives.

Discussions to incept a development bank were held during a cabinet meeting back in January.

Development banks are in place to provide medium and long-term capital for productive investment, often accompanied by technical assistance. They concentrate on fostering economic development by providing financing for projects and sectors that contribute to societal progress.

Source(s): sun.mv

Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Wang Lixin states China and Maldives firmly support each other on issues of our respective core interests and major concerns. The Ambassador noted Maldives efforts to raise its voice on the Palestinian issue in the international arena, China is proud of Maldives expansion of its role in the international arena. The ambassador said China encourages a permanent solution to the Palestinian conflict.

Speaking on the question regarding Taiwan, the Ambassador said the Maldivian government supports the One China policy. We highly appreciate that the Maldivian Government’s consistent and firm adherence to the one-China Principle. In the joint press communique issued during H.E. President Muizzu’s visit to China, the Maldivian side reaffirms that the Maldives is firmly committed to the one-China principle, recognizing that there is but one China in the world, the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory.

The Maldives opposes any statement or action that undermines China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, opposes all “Taiwan independence” separatist activities, and will not develop any form of official relations with Taiwan. The Maldives opposes external interference in China’s internal affairs under any pretext and supports all efforts made by China to achieve national reunification.

As the inauguration ceremony of the new leader of the Taiwan region dated 20 May and the World Health Assembly approaches, the United States is deliberately distorting and challenging UNGA Resolution 2758 adopted in 1971 on restoring the lawful seat of the People’s Republic of China in the United Nations and expelling the Chiang Kai-shek group. It has been trumpeting the notion that Taiwan’s status is undetermined, and advocating support for Taiwan’s participation in U.N. conferences and activities.

I would like to reiterate China’s position on the Taiwan question:

There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. This is an undeniable fact, a universal consensus of the international community and a basic norm in international relations. One hundred and eighty-three countries in the world, including the US, have established and are advancing diplomatic relations with China on the basis of the one-China principle.

Resolution 2758 adopted at the 26th Session of the UN General Assembly in 1971 made it clear that the government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the UN; Taiwan is not a country but a part of China’s territory. It makes clear Taiwan’s status as a non-sovereign entity. UNGA Resolution 2758 resolved once and for all politically, legally and procedurally the issue of the representation of the whole of China, including Taiwan, at the UN. The resolution also made clear that there can only be one seat representing China at the UN and precluded the possibility of “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”

Since the adoption of the resolution, the one-China principle has been observed by the UN and its specialized agencies on the Taiwan question. Taiwan is referred to as “Taiwan, province of China” in all UN’s official documents. It was clearly stated in the official legal opinions of the Office of Legal Affairs of the UN Secretariat that “the United Nations considers ‘Taiwan’ as a province of China with no separate status,” and the “’authorities’ in ‘Taipei’ are not considered to… enjoy any form of government status.”

The Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations must and can only be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. The United Nations is an intergovernmental international organization composed of sovereign states. Taiwan, a province of China, has no basis, reason or right to join the UN or its relevant agencies. This is stipulated in the UN Charter and is the principle that all UN member states must follow and an obligation that they should fulfill.

As a major country and permanent member of the UN Security Council, the US is supposed to take the lead in observing the UNGA resolutions and abiding by international law and basic norms in international relations, but it does just the opposite. The US deliberately distorted UNGA’s Resolution 2758 and propagated the narrative of so-called “Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system” to hollow out the one-China principle, embolden and support “Taiwan independence” separatist activities, and serve its pernicious aim of suppressing China. Such an attempt to turn back the wheel of history and ignore global opinion will only be resisted and opposed by the international force for justice and will not succeed.

UNGA Resolution 2758 brooks no challenge, and the one-China principle is unshakable. To play the “Taiwan card” is to drive oneself into the wall. Supporting Taiwan will inevitably backfire.

Israel’s tanks pushed into the heart of Jabalia in northern Gaza on Thursday, facing anti-tank rockets and mortar bombs from militants concentrated there, while in the south, its forces pounded Rafah without advancing, Palestinian residents and militants said.

The slow progress of Israel’s offensive, more than seven months after Hamas’ deadly cross-border raid prompted it, highlighted the difficulty of achieving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s aim of eradicating the militant group.

Armed wings of Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad have been able to fight up and down the Gaza Strip, using heavily fortified tunnels to stage attacks in both the north—the focus of Israel’s initial invasion—and new battlegrounds like Rafah.

“We are wearing Hamas down,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said, announcing that more troops would be deployed in Rafah, where he said several tunnels had been destroyed.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri responded that the group would defend its people “by all means.”

Israel says four Hamas battalions are now in Rafah along with hostages abducted during the October 7 assault, but it faces international pressure not to invade the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians are sheltering.

South Africa asked the top UN court to order a halt to Israel’s Rafah offensive, saying it was “part of the endgame in which Gaza is utterly destroyed.” Israel has denied South African allegations of genocide in Gaza and said it had complied with an earlier court order to step up aid.

The Gaza death toll has risen to 35,272, health officials in the Hamas-run coastal enclave said, and malnutrition is widespread with international aid efforts blocked by the violence and Israel’s de-facto shutdowns of its Kerem Shalom crossing and the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

Israel says it needs to eliminate the organization after the deaths of 1,200 people on October 7 and to free the 128 hostages still held out of the 253 abducted by the militants, according to its tallies.

Source(s): CGTN