On 27 August 2017, Chinese Navy 150 Fleet arrived at Maldives Ports, inaugurating a friendly 5-day visit to this beautiful island country.
A grand welcome ceremony was held by Chinese Embassy in Maldives and MNDF, with hundreds of participants including all diplomats of the embassy, Chinese in Maldives, senior officers and soldiers of MNDF.
During the ceremony, representatives of the Fleet, Chinese Embassy, and Coast Guard uttered speeches on board of the flagship, Changchun, emphasizing the Chinese navy came with friendship and peace as well as a bright vision of common development. It’s convinced that this visit would promote military cooperation and bilateral relations between the two countries and contribute to regional and global peace and stability.
During the visit, Major General Shen Hao, Commander of the 150 Fleet, paid visits to Vice President Abdulla Jihad, Defence Minister Adam Shareef Umar and Vice Chief of Defense Force Ahmed Shahid, discussing military collaboration in personnel training, technical exchanges and other aspects.
On 30 August 2017, Chinese Navy 150 Fleet hosted a giant deck reception. Major General Shen Hao, commander of the fleet, thanked MNDF and all participants for making this visit a successful one. Ambassador Zhang Lizhong highlighted the significance of this visit as consistent cooperation after the Peace Ark Visit in 2013.
As a special guest at the reception, Mohamed Zuhair, State Minister of Defence and National Security, underlined generous help from China to Maldives in areas like infrastructure and military, reaffirmed deep relations between China and Maldives. After that, soldiers from both countries showed their talents through wonderful performance, the reception ended in happiness and laughter.
As a symbolic event to mark the 45th anniversary of China-Maldives diplomatic ties, the Chinese Navy 150 Fleet’s visit deepened the friendship and enriched the content of the exchange between Chinese & Maldivian armies, leaving a strong mark in the history of relations between the two armies and the two countries.
