Foreign Minister Departs on Official Visit to the United States and to the United Kingdom

Minister of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid has departed on an official visit to the United States of America and, to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Minister Shahid is due to meet senior officials of the United States Government in Washington DC, including from the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury. During the meetings, Minister Shahid will explore further means to enhance bilateral cooperation between the governments of the United States and the Maldives, including ongoing programmes to assist the Maldives in its democratic consolidation.

Minister Shahid will then travel to New York to deliver a statement on behalf of the Maldives at the United Nations Security Council Open-Debate on the topic of “Addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security”. Minister Shahid will also meet with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, and other senior officials of the United Nations.

Following his visit to the United States, Minister Shahid will travel to the United Kingdom to attend a meeting of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies. Minister Shahid will also meet with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, and senior officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom during his visit to London.

Minister Shahid will also travel to the United Arab Emirates during this visit, and hold bilateral talks with senior officials of the UAE Government as a follow-up to the recent visit to the country by His Excellency Mr Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, President of the Republic of Maldives. Minister Shahid is part of high-level delegation that also includes the H.E. Mr Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Finance, H.E. Mr. Mohamed Aslam, Minister of National Planning and Infrastructure, H.E. Uz. Fayyaz Ismail, Minister of Economic Development, and Ms. Aminath Shauna, Policy Secretary at the President’s Office.

Minister Shahid is also accompanied on this visit to the United States and the United Kingdom by His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.