PM issues instructions to launch direct Pakistan-Maldives flights

Business Recorder · 23/10/2026، 12:47:19 AM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday directed the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to expedite a feasibility study for direct flights between Pakistan and Maldives, as Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu announced plans by his country’s national airline to launch a direct service between Malé and Karachi soon. Addressing the Pakistan-Maldives Business Forum alongside Maldivian President Dr Muizzu, the prime minister said he had directed the Civil Aviation Ministry to work out arrangements for direct air links. He said that a Pakistani delegation comprising government officials and business representatives would visit Malé within a week to explore trade and investment opportunities. READ ALSO: Pakistan, Maldives target $200m bilateral trade in two years Sharif said improved connectivity was essential to achieving the trade target, calling for direct flights between Malé and Islamabad or Karachi and a reliable maritime shipping schedule linking Karachi or Gwadar with the Maldivian capital. He said the CAA would invite a Maldivian delegation to Pakistan to work out arrangements for launching flights at the earliest. The feasibility study would consider Pakistan International Airlines and other domestic carriers. Muizzu, meanwhile, said Maldivian, the island nation’s national airline, planned to establish a direct air link between Malé and Karachi soon. The service would facilitate travel and create opportunities for trade and tourism, he added. Beyond air connectivity, the Maldivian president called for closer cooperation in sectors ranging from agriculture and healthcare to infrastructure, renewable energy and financial services, arguing that the two countries’ economic partnership remained well below its potential. He said Pakistan’s agricultural production could help strengthen food security in the Maldives, which relies heavily on dependable supply chains. Cooperation could extend beyond agricultural trade to cold-chain logistics, temperature-contro