Bilateral air access agreement signed between Maldives and Mauritius

Maldives has signed a bilateral agreement regarding air access with the Republic of Mauritius. The agreement will allow direct flights between the two countries.

The agreement signing ceremony was held last Monday in Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius. Mauritian Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Xavier Luc Duval signed the agreement on behalf of their Government, while Defence Minister Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim signed the agreement of behalf of the Maldivian Government.

Maldives and Mauritius first held talks on bilateral air access during a visit by a delegation led by Mauritian Vice Prime Minister to the Maldives early this year. The talks during the visit also included discussions on how the two governments can aid in developing tourism, especially ways to increase their popularity of with Chinese and African tourists.

The agreement will allow companies Mauritius Air, Mega Global Air Services Maldives and Island Aviation to jointly conduct direct flights between Beijing and Mauritius, and Maldives and Mauritius.

The flights are forecasted to start July this year and seven flights have been planned to be conducted per week.

Mauritian Vice Prime Minister Xavier Luc Duval said that this is a historical agreement which brings the two sister islands closer and the he hopes that this is the first step in a collaboration between the two islands in the fields of environmental and marine management, as well as island development.

Defence Minister Nazim stated this agreement will prove additionally beneficial for tourism since around 80,000 Chinese tourists visit Maldives annually, and that it is additionally important as it strengthens the bilateral ties between our two countries, increases our connectivity and opens the door for commercial cooperation.