Ｄｅｌｅｇａｔｉｏｎ ｏｆ Ｍａｌｄｉｖｉａｎ Ｍｉｎｉｓｔｒｙ ｏｆ Ａｔｏｌｌｓ Ｄｅｖｅｌｏｐｍｅｎｔ ｉｎ Ｃｈｉｎａ

At the invitation of the CPAFFC， the delegation of the Maldivian Ministry of Atolls Development led by its Deputy Minister Fathimath Sheereen paid a visit to Beijing and Jiangsu from April 24 to 30. This was the first substantial exchange aiming at strengthening friendly contacts since the CPAFFC and the Ministry of Atolls Development established links last December.

CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Vice President Wang Yunze met with the delegation on different occasions. Lian Yuming， director of the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development， had an informal discussion with the delegation. The delegation visited Tuanjiehu Elementary School whose corresponding country is Maldives in the Heart-to-Heart Partnership Programme entitled the “True Love Knot” organized by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG)， and the Beijing Planning Exhibition Hall.

The delegation’s visit to China has helped the two sides have a deeper understanding of the social and economic situation and people’s life of each other’s country， and enhance the friendship between the people of the two countries. During her visit to China， Deputy Minister Fathimath Sheereen said on several occasions， the Maldivian and Chinese people are not separated from each other by the distance for their hearts have been already linked together.

The Maldivian guests were very much interested in their discussions with the Beijing International Institute for Urban Development and the Jiangsu Province Construction Department and in their meetings with the municipal leaders of Wuxi and Yangzhou. They listened to what the Chinese hosts said attentively and asked many questions. Deputy Minister Sheereen said， China’s experience of development is worth learning by the Maldives. She also hoped to know more about the Chinese local governments and said that her ministry would send delegations of its officials to China for study or training.

The “True Love Knot” activity is an Olympic educational exchange launched by the BOCOG on December 18， 2006. More than 200 middle and primary schools in Beijing take part in the activity. These schools will enter partnership with the Olympic Games Committees and the Paralympic Games Committees of the countries or regions whose athletes will participate in the 2008 Olympic Games. And it is planned that each school will form friendship school ties with a school in its partner country or region. Beijing Tuanjiehu Elementary School’s corresponding country is the Maldives. The School held a ceremony to warmly welcome the delegation. The Maldivian guests were very happy to have a chance to visit a Chinese school and expressed appreciation of the “True Love Knot” activity. They presented the school with booklets and audio and video products about the Maldives， and said that after returning home they would try to find a primary school to twin pairs with Tuanjiehu Elementary School.

To Deputy Minister Sheereen and all other members of the delegation， this was their first visit to China. In Beijing and Jiangsu， they highly praised China’s booming economic development and clean cities， and particularly admired the Chinese government’ ability and the Chinese people’s diligence， self-discipline and devotion to work. Before departure， the Deputy Minister said， the Chinese leaders are great. It is really extraordinary that China with such a huge population has achieved so remarkable development in the past 30 years. She said with emotion， every Chinese she met with is friendly， warm-hearted and very conscientious in work. The active， forward-looking and enterprising attitude of the Chinese people deserves praise. The future of China will surely be very bright.