Maldives president extends condolences on death of former Sri Lankan minister

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has extended his condolences following the death of Sri Lanka's former Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera.

Samaraweera -who was Sri Lanka’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2005-2007 as well as 2015 to 2017, and Finance Minister from 2017 to 2019- passed away from Covid-19 on Tuesday, at the age of 65.

Following the news of Samaraweera's death, President Solih extended his condolences to his loved ones and the Sri Lankan people via Twitter. The Maldivian president added that he was "a dedicated public servant who contributed greatly to Sri Lanka and a strong advocate of Maldives-Sri Lanka friendship",

Other prominent figures in the Maldives also extended their condolences following the the Sri Lankan former minister's passing, including Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

He said that the South Asian region "has lost one of its best political minds in a generation" with Samaraweera's death, adding that the former minister had demonstrated dedication to his country through service.

Further, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid also tweeted that he was "deeply saddened" to learn of the death of the former minister.

Shahid said that Samaraweera's "immeasurable contribution" to the government and people of Sri Lanka as well to promote Maldives-Lanka relations are "greatly valued".

Mangala Samaraweera served as a politician for over 30 years in his career until his retirement in 2020. He was a highly vocal activist during his tenure as a politician.

He contracted the virus earlier this month and was admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU) of the Lanka Hospital in Colombo. He is the second highest ranking Sri Lankan politician to succumb to coronavirus after the death of former parliamentary speaker WJM Lokubandara.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of a rapid third wave of the Covid-19 which has infected over 390,000 people to date and caused 7,560 deaths.