# Pakistan-Maldives direct flights planned, Malé to Karachi first, after 20 MoUs and a $200m trade target

Source: Searchable (https://searchable.pk/news/politics/pakistan-and-maldives-sign-20-mous-aim-to-lift-trade-from-dollar139m-to)
Type: News article
Author: Searchable Editorial
Published: 21 Oct 2026
Updated: 22 Oct 2026
Retrieved: 25 Oct 2026

> Shehbaz ordered a feasibility study for a Pakistani airline to fly to Malé, and Muizzu said Maldivian aims to open a Malé-Karachi route soon. What else the two countries signed this week.

**Update, Thursday 22 October 2026: direct flights between Pakistan and the Maldives are now being planned from both ends.** At the Pakistan-Maldives Business Forum in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif told the civil aviation ministry to prepare a quick feasibility study for a first flight to Malé by PIA or another Pakistani airline, and to invite a Maldivian delegation to plan the route, [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2039036/direct-flights-between-pakistan-and-maldives-on-the-horizon-as-pm-stresses-connectivity). President Mohamed Muizzu said he had asked the national airline, Maldivian, to work out a plan and that it aims to launch a direct **Malé to Karachi** link soon. There are no direct flights today; no date or fare has been announced.

Shehbaz also called for direct shipping from Karachi or Gwadar to Malé, and said a Pakistani delegation of officials and businesspeople would go to Malé about a week after Muizzu returns home. Muizzu, who called food security a national security matter for his island nation, proposed partnerships in cold storage, food processing and climate-adapted farming on top of Pakistan's existing food exports. Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan put current trade at about $13 million.

*The report on the 20 MoUs signed on Wednesday follows.*

**Pakistan and the Maldives signed 20 memorandums of understanding in Islamabad on Wednesday and agreed to raise bilateral trade from $13.9 million to $200 million within two years**, during the first visit by a Maldivian president to Pakistan in 11 years, [Dawn reported](https://www.dawn.com/news/2038736/pm-shehbaz-vows-to-strengthen-maldives-ties-for-all-time-to-come-20-mous-signed). President **Mohamed Muizzu** is on a three-day visit from 20 October at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in the 60th year of diplomatic relations.

## What was signed

The 20 MoUs cover:

- defence cooperation and maritime security;
- IT, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence;
- action against illicit trafficking and narcotics;
- **recruitment of health professionals**, health and food regulation, and vocational training;
- **air connectivity**;
- police academies and civil service training;
- agriculture, trade, fisheries, environment, education, tourism, youth and sports, and arts and culture.

Pakistan will also send 100,000 olive cuttings and 100,000 seeds of other plants for the Maldives' plan to plant five million trees.

## Why it matters for Pakistani workers and students

About **250 Pakistani doctors and paramedics** already work in the Maldives, and Shehbaz said that will continue "with bigger numbers". The health-worker MoU is the one to watch for anyone in medicine looking abroad: the details of how recruitment will run have not been published yet. Many Maldivian students study medicine and nursing in Pakistan, and the education pact covers that flow too. An air connectivity agreement was among the pacts; on Thursday both governments began planning a first direct route (see above).

## What the leaders said

Shehbaz called current trade "just a fraction of our potential" and said both countries would strengthen ties "for all time to come". Muizzu said the two were "worlds of untapped potential for each other". Shehbaz also briefed him on Kashmir, and repeated that any violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, which India suspended in April 2025, would be treated as an act of war, Dawn reported. Muizzu received an honorary doctorate from the International Islamic University Islamabad and was due to meet President Asif Ali Zardari.

At today's rate, $200 million is about **Rs 55.4 billion**; see the live [dollar rate](/data/usd-pkr) or convert with our [currency converter](/tools/finance/currency-converter).

## Frequently asked questions

**How many MoUs did Pakistan and the Maldives sign?**

Twenty, on 21 October 2026 in Islamabad, covering defence, maritime security, IT and AI, health workers, air connectivity, education, trade, tourism and more.

## Sources

- Direct flights between Pakistan and Maldives on the horizon as PM stresses connectivity (22 Oct 2026) (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2039036/direct-flights-between-pakistan-and-maldives-on-the-horizon-as-pm-stresses-connectivity
- PM Shehbaz vows to strengthen Maldives ties for 'all time to come'; 20 MoUs signed (21 Oct 2026) (Dawn): https://www.dawn.com/news/2038736/pm-shehbaz-vows-to-strengthen-maldives-ties-for-all-time-to-come-20-mous-signed
- Pakistan, Maldives pledge to boost bilateral trade to $200m in two years (Geo News): https://www.geo.tv/latest/687586-maldives-president-accorded-guard-of-honour-at-pm-house

How to cite: "Pakistan-Maldives direct flights planned, Malé to Karachi first, after 20 MoUs and a $200m trade target", Searchable, 22 Oct 2026, https://searchable.pk/news/politics/pakistan-and-maldives-sign-20-mous-aim-to-lift-trade-from-dollar139m-to