The Government of Maldives reaffirms its solidarity with the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Government of Maldives strongly rejects any attempts to undermine the sovereignty of any country, whether by threatening to impose sanctions or by putting political pressure towards reaching a political objective. In this regard, the Government of Maldives supports the statement issued by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on 14 October 2018.

The Government of Maldives is confident that the Government of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is fully committed to the principles of rule of law and are in compliance with international laws and conventions. The Government of Maldives further commends the constructive role of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in bringing harmony, peace and security to the entire region.

The Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Maldives, His Excellency Tung-Lai Margue paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Asim this morning.

During the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Foreign Minister and the Ambassador discussed about the close cooperation between the European Union and the Maldives, as well as the prospect for further strengthening cooperation in areas such as Climate Change, democracy consolidation and countering terrorism.

Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim was accompanied by Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Secretary Bilateral and Ms. Shiuneen Rasheed, Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Read more

Minister of State for Asia and Pacific at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom, Rt. Honourable Mark Field MP paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Asim.

During the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs this afternoon, discussions focused on ways to further strengthen and enhance the existing bilateral relations between the two countries, particularly in the field of aviation security, countering terrorism and violent extremism and issues related to climate change.

Foreign Minister was accompanied by Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Secretary Bilateral and Ms. Shiuneen Rasheed, Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Read more

Mr. Dinesh K. Patnaik, Joint Secretary for Indian Ocean Region at the Ministry of External Affairs of India called on His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Secretary Bilateral, Ministry of Foreign Affairs this afternoon.

During the meeting, Secretary Bilateral Khaleel and Joint Secretary Patnaik discussed the bilateral relations between the Maldives and India, and way forward for further strengthening the existing ties.

At the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Secretary Bilateral Ahmed Khaleel was accompanied by Ms. Umaira Mohamed, Assistant Director and Mr. Mohamed Shaffau Ibrahim, Senior Desk Officer.

Joint Secretary Mr. Patnaik was accompanied by H.E. Mr. Akhilesh Mishra, Ambassador of India and Ms. Archana Nair, First Secretary (Pol.) at the Embassy of India.

Joint Secretary, Mr. Patnaik is also scheduled to meet with Honorable Abdulla Shahid, Head of the Transition Team and Ahmed Latheef, Director General of Transition at the Office of the President-elect of Maldives later today.

ENDS

The Presidential election held peacefully and seamlessly, with 89% of voter turnout, was extraordinary, and a moment that made “every Maldivian proud of how far we have come” in the country’s journey towards democracy consolidation, says the Maldives representative at the United Nations today. The Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations, H. E. Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed was speaking at the General Debate of the ongoing Seventy-Third Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

During his Address to the General Assembly, the Permanent Representative highlighted that following the Presidential election held on 23rd September, the country is at the moment going through the process of transfer of power from one elected government to the other. He also noted that the accelerated pace of democratization in the Maldives is going in tandem with even faster growth in social and economic developments. From the humble beginning, as one of the poorest countries in the world at independence in 1965, to an upper-middle income country today, is a success story by any measure, noted the Maldives statement.

Under the stewardship of President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the Maldives focused on developing and modernizing critical infrastructure to stimulate growth in the country’s main industries and transforming the physical landscape of the capital through consolidating three separate populations, and thus, helping to achieve economies of scale. The Permanent Representative reaffirmed that the Maldives will always work with its international partners and stakeholders, to achieve greater progress and prosperity, both domestically and internationally. Read more