The Maldives has remained an independent nation throughout its recorded history,save for a brief spell of Portuguese occupation in the mid-16th century. From 1887 to 1965,the country was a British protectorate while retaining full internal sovereignty. At its independence in 1965,the Maldives joined the United Nations on 20 September.
Li Zhaoxing is a Chinese diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of China from 2003 to 2007. He previously served as Ambassador of China to the United States from 1998 to 2001,Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations from 1993 to 1995,and deputy director and director of information department at Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1985 to 1993.
Mohamed Latheef is a former Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative to the United Nations for the Republic of Maldives,based in New York City.
Shivshankar Menon is an Indian diplomat,who served as National Security Adviser of India under Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. He had previously served as the Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Prior to that he was Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan,and Sri Lanka and ambassador to China and Israel. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. He is also Visiting Professor of International Relations at Ashoka University.
Zhai Jun is a Chinese diplomat,who has served as China's Special Envoy on the Middle Eastern Issue since 2019. As of 2022,he was the incumbent in the position. Previously,he served as Deputy Foreign Minister from 2009 to 2014,and was appointed Chinese ambassador to France in January 2014,replacing Kong Quan.
The United States has friendly relations with the Republic of Maldives since the nation's independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The U.S. ambassador and some Embassy staff in Sri Lanka are accredited to the Maldives and make periodic visits. On the other hand,Maldives is represented in U.S. through its Permanent Mission to the UN at New York City.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is an Indian diplomat and politician serving as the Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 30 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018. He became the second ever diplomat to be appointed as India's External Affairs minister,after Natwar Singh.
Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Maldives were established in 1972. China has an embassy in Maléwhich opened in November 2011,and the Maldives has an embassy in Beijing which opened in 2009. Approximately 70 percent of the Maldives' total debt is attributed to Chinese projects,with an annual payment of $92 million to China,constituting around 10 percent of the country's entire budget. China has become pervasive in the Maldives,exerting influence over infrastructure,trade,and energy sectors,raising concerns of a new form of Chinese entrapment.
Atul Keshap is a retired American diplomat and career United States Foreign Service Officer from Virginia who serves at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as the President of the U.S.- India Business Council since January 2022. He also serves as Senior Vice President for South Asia and as President of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council. Previously,he served as the Chargéd'affaires of the United States mission to India in 2021. He formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the United States Department of State. In 2022,Ambassador Keshap was elected into membership of the American Academy of Diplomacy. In May 2023,Keshap was named one of Washington's most influential foreign policy influencers for his work to shape U.S. relations with India.
MaryKay Loss Carlson is an American diplomat who has served as the United States ambassador to the Philippines since 2022. She was previously the United States chargéd'affaires in Argentina from 2021 to 2022,after having served as the Deputy Chief of Mission in the country from September 2019.
Vikram Misri is an Indian diplomat who has served as the ambassador of India to China from January 2019 to December 2021. He took over as the Deputy National Security Advisor of India from 1 January 2022,succeeding Pankaj Saran.
Jacqueline Mukangira is a Rwandan politician and diplomat. She is High Commissioner of Rwanda to India and former Ambassador of Rwanda to the Nordic countries.
Hideo Tarumi (垂秀夫) is a Japanese diplomat who served as the Ambassador to China,from November 2020 to December 2023.
Hugo Yue-Ho Yon is an American diplomat serving as the U.S. ambassador to the Maldives since September 2023.
Luo Zhaohui is a Chinese diplomat who became the director of the China International Development Cooperation Agency on 18 April 2021. He previously served as Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan (2007-2010),Canada (2014-2016) and India (2016-2019).
Ahmed Khaleel is a Maldivian diplomat and the former Ambassador to Japan. He also studied in Majeediyya School for 10 years. He served as the non-resident ambassador to the Republic of Korea. He served as the Under-Secretary for Bilateral Relations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during 2016–2018,before becoming the MInister of State for Foreign Affairs in November 2018.
The Embassy of the Maldives in the People's Republic of China is an embassy established by the Maldives in Beijing,the capital of the People's Republic of China.
