Foreign Minister, Dr. Asim returns to Maldives after a successful official visit to Japan

June 18, 2018

Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Asim has arrived in Male’, after concluding a three-day official visit to Japan.

During the visit Minister Asim met with his counterpart Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, H.E. Mr. Taro Kono. Both ministers signed a JPY 300 million grant assistance agreement, under the Japanese Economic and Social Development Cooperation Programme, which would support the health sector of Maldives. The foreign ministers also held bilateral talks to discuss avenues of further cooperation to enhance and advance the Maldives-Japan relationship in a wide range of fields including environment, climate change, disaster prevention, tourism and health care. The importance of the maritime security under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy was also among the issues discussed during the meeting.

The foreign ministers welcomed the momentum of the recent bilateral exchanges taking place between the two countries including the launch of the First Round of Japan-Maldives Policy Dialogue between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan to coincide Minister Asim’s visit.

The foreign ministers also exchanged views on the US-DPRK summit held in Singapore on June 12, and recognized the importance of the swift implementation of the agreements reached in order to realize comprehensive peace, stability and progress in the Korean peninsular. Further, both ministers expressed hope that the Summit would lead to an early resolution of the abductions issue.

During his call on Japan’s Minister of Environment, H.E. Masaharu Nakagawa, Foreign Minister Asim noted the positive developments taking place throughout the world to mitigate and adapt to the risks of climate change. The two ministers discussed further cooperation within the context of Japan’s Joint Credit Mechanism (JCM) on reduction of low carbon emission and renewable energy. At the meeting with the President of JICA Mr. Shinichi Kitaoka, Minister Asim thanked JICA for its continuous efforts to promote the socio-economic development of Maldives through successful programmes undertaken in the Maldives. Both Minister Asim and President Kitaoka exchanged views on future collaboration between JICA and the Government of Maldives. Minister Asim further noted with appreciation the positive contribution JOCV volunteers play in the socio-economic development of Maldives.

Minister Asim also met with Japan-Maldives Friendship League’s President Mr. Wataru Takeshita, and other members of the League. Minister Asim thanked the League members for their unwavering support to advance the friendly relations between the two countries. Minister Asim and the League’s President Takeshita noted the increased people-to-people contact, including the growth of trade and investment between two countries over the years.

During the visit the Minister graced a reception organized by the Embassy of Maldives for Japanese leading tour operators and airline representatives and spoke about importance of strengthening the economic and commercial ties with Japan. Minister Asim also visited Tokyo Skytree, the primary television and radio broadcasting tower of Tokyo. Maldives and Japan are cooperating on establishing Integrated Services Digital Broadcasting Terrestrial (ISDB-T) television network, a Japanese standard for the transmission of digital television over air, which advances speedy communication and warning for disaster preparedness.

Minister Asim was accompanied by H.E. Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Secretary Bilateral and Mr. Ahmed Fazeel, Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.From Japan, the delegation was joined by Ambassador-designate H.E. Mr. Ibrahim Uvais and staff of the Maldives Embassy.