Namal Rajapaksa arrives in the Maldives ahead of Sunday's game in the SAFF Championship

Son of former President of Sri Lankan and current Prime Minister Mahindha Rajapaksa, Namal Rajapaksa has arrived in the Maldives ahead of the “Ooredoo SAFF Championship 2021” game scheduled for Sunday evening.

Maldivian Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Development Ahmed Mahloof received his counterpart at Velana International Airport on Sunday morning.

Namal, Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Development, Co-ordination and Monitoring and State Minister of Digital Technology and Enterprise Development of Sri Lanka, paid a courtesy call on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Sunday morning upon arrival.

Namal shed light on the long-standing mutual relationship between Maldives and Sri Lanka during the visit, where he and the president engaged in discussions regarding the Covid-19 recovery efforts and tourism. As such, highlighting that Sri Lanka is in the process of reopening borders, Namal stated that the recovery of tourism in the Maldives is beneficial to close neighbors.

Namal revealed that Sri Lanka is expected to increase flight frequency to Maldives with the addition of a new southern airport.

Discussions also revolved around the SAFF Championship 2021, where Namal expressed content that the championship is being hosted by the Maldives.

Avenues for sports cooperation between the two countries were also discussed including the development of cricket and football.

Namal was present at the ceremony during which President Solih took oath of office in November 2018 after being elected the country’s president. He had also visited Maldives during July 2019.

The match scheduled for 4pm Sunday will see Maldives and Sri Lanka go head-to-head.