The Maldives and China are moving to strengthen cooperation between their prosecutorial authorities, with a high-level delegation from China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate holding official talks with Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef on strengthening the investigation and prosecution of complex crimes.
The visit marks the first official engagement between the Supreme People’s Procuratorate of China and the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Maldives.
The Chinese delegation travelled to Malé at the invitation of Prosecutor General Abbas Shareef and was led by Shi Weizhong, Permanent Member of the Procuratorial Committee of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. The official meeting was held on Wednesday at Hotel Jen.
Discussions focused on expanding cooperation in several areas, including the prosecution of financial crimes, money laundering, financial fraud and cybercrime, particularly cases involving complex and transnational offences.
A key area of discussion was the development of specialised skills among Maldivian prosecutors. The two sides explored opportunities for training and professional development, including study visits and attachment programmes that would allow Maldivian prosecutors to gain practical experience within China’s prosecutorial system.
The talks also covered institutional and infrastructure development, with particular attention given to upgrading information and communications technology systems within the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The two sides discussed the introduction of artificial intelligence into prosecutorial work, including the potential integration of AI into case management systems. Establishing a digital filing system was also identified as an area for cooperation as the Maldives seeks to modernise its prosecutorial processes.
Knowledge and expertise sharing formed another important component of the discussions, with both sides agreeing on the value of continued exchanges between prosecutors and officials from the two institutions.
The Maldivian delegation included Deputy Prosecutor General Mahmood Saleem; Assistant Prosecutors General Maryam Fezleen and Shamra Shameem; and Public Prosecutors Nishan Waheed, Director of International Affairs; Ahmed Naufal, Director of the Prosecutor General’s Academy; Ahmed Shafeeu, Director of Media and Communications; Ahmed Naushad; and Maryam Lumma Abdul Hannan.
The Chinese delegation included Deputy Chief Prosecutors from several provinces, senior prosecutorial officials and Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives Kong Xianhua.
The engagement is viewed as an important step in expanding legal and institutional cooperation between the two countries. China’s experience in combating corruption and financial crimes was also highlighted as an area from which the Maldives could benefit as it works to strengthen its own prosecutorial capabilities.
Following the talks, the Prosecutor General’s Office said both sides expressed a strong commitment to developing long-term cooperation aimed at strengthening prosecutorial capacity and supporting justice sector reform.
The discussions are expected to pave the way for continued collaboration in training, technological development, knowledge exchange and the handling of priority crimes, further deepening the legal and judicial partnership between the Maldives and China.
