Maldives plans direct Malé-Karachi flights as Sharif orders aviation study
Pakistan and the Maldives are pushing to turn a $200 million two-year trade target into signed deals, with Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu inviting Pakistani banks and manufacturers into sukuk issuance, pharmaceutical supply and island infrastructure, and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ordering aviation officials to work up direct flights between the two countries.
Speaking at the Pakistan-Maldives Business Forum in Islamabad, Sharif said he had directed the Civil Aviation Authority to expedite a feasibility study on direct air links and to invite a Maldivian delegation to Pakistan to settle arrangements, with Pakistan International Airlines and other domestic carriers in scope. He said a Pakistani delegation of officials and business representatives would travel to Malé within a week, and called for flights to Islamabad or Karachi plus a reliable shipping schedule linking Karachi or Gwadar with the Maldivian capital.
Muizzu said Maldivian, the national carrier, plans to open a direct service between Malé and Karachi soon, and pressed shipping companies and port operators to build commercially viable sea routes, calling maritime connectivity an economic lifeline for the islands. He argued the two economies are trading well below their potential and named cold-chain logistics, food processing and climate-adaptive agricultural technology as areas where Pakistani production could shore up Maldivian food security.
The Maldivian president also put Islamic finance on the table, proposing sukuk, Sharia-compliant investment instruments and closer links between the two countries' financial services sectors. He invited Pakistani pharmaceutical manufacturers to supply certified medical goods as the Maldives builds modern health centres across its islands, and urged construction and engineering firms to bid for housing, land reclamation and infrastructure work.
On energy, Muizzu said his government aims to generate 33 percent of its electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2028 as it cuts reliance on imported diesel, opening scope for Pakistani involvement. Information technology, education, tourism, halal products and Islamic finance were also flagged. Sharif urged businesses on both sides to back the $200m target with concrete initiatives, while Muizzu asked Pakistani firms to treat the Maldives as a joint-venture partner rather than an export market.
