Pakistan and Maldives Sign 20 MoUs as Shehbaz Vows Stronger Ties
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's first visit to Pakistan in 11 years brings a $200 million trade target and pledges on trees, data centres and health workers
By AXY Pakistan Desk ·
Key points
- Pakistan and the Maldives signed 20 MoUs in Islamabad on Wednesday during President Mohamed Muizzu's three-day visit.
- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said both sides agreed to raise bilateral trade from $13.9 million to $200 million within two years.
- Pakistan pledged 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds to support a plan to plant 5 million trees in the Maldives.
- Shehbaz said 250 Pakistani doctors and paramedics are serving in the Maldives and that the number would grow.
- Shehbaz restated Pakistan's positions on Kashmir, Palestine and the suspended Indus Waters Treaty during the visit.
Pakistan and the Maldives signed 20 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) in Islamabad on Wednesday, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif promised to deepen ties between the two countries during a visit by Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. Speaking at a joint press stakeout after the signing, Shehbaz said, “There is no doubt that the two countries [will] keep on strengthening these relations for all time to come.”
Muizzu arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday for a three-day visit at Shehbaz's invitation. The trip is the first by a Maldivian president to Pakistan in 11 years. It also falls in a milestone year: the two countries are celebrating 60 years of diplomatic relations, which were established in 1966.
Shehbaz gave the visiting leader and his delegation what he called a “very warm welcome.” He said he and Muizzu had held bilateral and delegation-level talks, and described the discussions as “very productive and very fruitful.” Muizzu, who took office in November 2023, has steered the Maldives toward closer engagement with a range of partners, and this visit is one of the clearest signs of how his government wants to shape its relationship with its largest neighbour in South Asia.
What was signed and discussed
According to Shehbaz, the talks covered “all important issues which have direct bearing” on the two countries, as well as regional and international questions. He listed economic and trade relations, strategic defence cooperation, and Pakistan's support for training Maldivian nationals in fields including police work, defence, education and health.
The source material describes the 20 MoUs as wide-ranging but does not list each one. That means the exact content of most agreements is not yet public, and readers should be cautious about assuming what each document commits either side to. A memorandum of understanding is a formal document that records what two governments intend to do together. It is usually not a binding contract, so its real weight depends on the funding, staff and follow-up that come after it.
The most concrete figure Shehbaz gave concerned trade. He said both sides had agreed to lift bilateral trade from $13.9 million, which he called “just a fraction of our potential,” to $200 million within the next two years. That would be roughly 14 times the current level. Shehbaz also said the relationship does not yet “reflect the true strength of our economic cooperation.”
Trade targets like this are common between partner governments. Governments can offer trade missions, lower barriers and financing, but they cannot force companies to buy and sell. Whether the goal is reached will depend on whether businesses in both countries find products they want to trade and the logistics to move them.
Tree planting, data centres and health workers
Shehbaz said Pakistan would support the Maldives in planting 5 million trees. He said Islamabad would provide 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds of various plant species, to be delivered within a timeframe the two sides will agree together. He thanked Muizzu for his “personal support in this behalf.”
The Maldives is a chain of low-lying coral islands in the Indian Ocean, and it is highly exposed to rising seas and coastal erosion. Trees and plant cover help hold soil in place and can shade and protect shorelines, so a greening programme of this size is a practical concern for island communities as well as a symbolic one. The source material does not say which islands will receive the plants or who will run the programme on the Maldivian side.
The prime minister also welcomed the Maldives' plans to establish data centres. A data centre is a building full of computer servers that store, process and deliver digital information, from government records and banking systems to online services that people use every day. Shehbaz said Pakistan was “absolutely ready to provide technical expertise” and had “attained a reasonable level of expertise and professional capability” in the field, with data centres set up in several locations. He offered Pakistan's “experience and our professional capabilities” to the Maldives.
Health cooperation was the area where Shehbaz offered the most specific detail. He said a large number of Maldivian students were studying at Pakistani universities and colleges, particularly in healthcare. He also said 250 Pakistani doctors and other paramedics were serving in the Maldives, and that this number would grow. “This shall continue in future with bigger numbers,” he told Muizzu, adding that Pakistan would fulfil the Maldives' requirements “with utmost sincerity of purpose.”
For Maldivian families, the practical effect of these programmes would show up in clinics and hospitals. Training local students in Pakistan can produce doctors and nurses who later work at home, while visiting Pakistani medical staff can fill gaps in the meantime. The source material does not say how many Maldivian students are enrolled or which institutions they attend.
Palestine and Kashmir
Shehbaz commended the Maldives for what he called its “unwavering” support for the Palestinian cause. He said Islamabad remains fully committed to the Palestinians' right of self-determination and to the establishment of an independent state of Palestine. Pakistan has long backed Palestinian statehood in its foreign policy, so the statement fits a consistent position rather than a new one.
Shehbaz also said he had briefed Muizzu on Pakistan's position on Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan describes as occupied. He said Islamabad supports a peaceful resolution of the dispute in line with relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. Pakistan and India have disputed the region since the partition of British India in 1947, and it has been the subject of several wars and recurring military standoffs. India regards Kashmir as part of its own territory.
He added that “their sacrifice will not go to waste at all.” The Maldives' response to these remarks is not reported in the source material.
The Indus Waters dispute
The prime minister raised India's decision to place the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance in April 2025. The treaty, signed in 1960, sets out how the waters of the Indus river system are shared between India and Pakistan. Placing a treaty in abeyance means one side has suspended its implementation, without formally ending it. The move followed a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir in April 2025, which India blamed on Pakistan-based groups, a charge Pakistan rejects.
Shehbaz said Pakistan had “serious concern” about the decision and described it as a violation of an international binding treaty. “Pakistan's position is loud and clear,” he said, adding that “legally binding treaties must be respected and shared water resources must never be weaponised or used as an instrument of political pressure or blackmailing.”
He also said Pakistan had made clear “at various forums,” including the UN General Assembly last month, that water is a “red line” for the country. The source material does not say what concrete steps Pakistan plans to take on the treaty, and it does not record any Maldivian comment on the issue.
The water dispute matters to ordinary people because the Indus system supplies farms, cities and hydropower across Pakistan, and Pakistani officials have repeatedly warned that disruption to flows could affect food and water security. Why raise it during a visit to a small island nation? Pakistan has an interest in gaining support from as many countries as possible for its positions on water, Kashmir and Palestine. Analysts who follow South Asian diplomacy often say that backing from smaller partners carries weight in United Nations votes and joint statements, even when it does not change the broader balance of power.
What to watch next
Shehbaz said he would “be very happy to personally work with” Muizzu to turn the MoUs into practical results, with “prompt decision-making and speedy implementation.” Whether that happens will depend on the detail of each agreement, which has not been published in the source material.
Several points will show whether the visit produces results. The first is whether the $200 million trade target is backed by specific measures, such as business delegations, trade fairs or financing. The second is when the olive cuttings and seeds will arrive, and who will manage the planting goal of 5 million trees in the Maldives. The third is how quickly the Maldives moves on its data centre plans and how much of the work Pakistani expertise will shape. The fourth is whether the number of Pakistani doctors and paramedics in the Maldives rises, as Shehbaz promised.
The Indus Waters dispute will likely remain a separate track. Pakistan has said it will keep raising the issue at international forums, but the source material does not indicate any joint Maldivian action on it.
The 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties gives both governments a reason to show progress. The real test will be whether the 20 agreements become projects that people in Malé and across Pakistan can see and use.
Questions and answers
What did Pakistan and the Maldives sign in Islamabad?
The two countries signed 20 memorandums of understanding during the visit of Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu. The source material describes them as wide-ranging and says they cover economic and trade ties, defence cooperation and training in fields including police, education and health, but it does not list each agreement.
What trade target did Pakistan and the Maldives agree on?
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said both sides agreed to raise bilateral trade from $13.9 million to $200 million within the next two years. He described the current figure as just a fraction of the countries' potential.
Why is Muizzu's visit to Pakistan significant?
It is the first visit to Pakistan by a Maldivian president in 11 years. It also comes during the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, which were established in 1966.
Topics: Pakistan, Maldives, Shehbaz Sharif, Mohamed Muizzu, Pakistan-Maldives relations, Indus Waters Treaty, Pakistan foreign policy
Sources: Dawn
https://axynewsglobal.com/article/pakistan-and-maldives-sign-20-mous-as-shehbaz-vows-stronger-ties