Maldives

French presence

The French Embassy in Colombo (Sri Lanka) is also competent for the Maldives. Some 70 French nationals live in the Maldives. In 2023, around 52,000 French tourists made a trip there.

There are about 100 Maldives nationals living in France.

Visits

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives took part in the Ministerial Forum for Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific held in Paris on 22 February 2022.

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

The Alliance Française in Malé opened in 2009, and is the only French institution in the archipelago.

As part of a post-tsunami programme, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD, French Development Agency) financed two ports on the islands of Ungoofaaru and Manadhoo for a total of €5 million.

In 2023, the University of Réunion and the Maldives National University signed a cooperation agreement (tourism, disaster and climate change management, and French as a foreign language).

France and the Maldives carry out cooperation activities in the domestic security field.