First round of bilateral consultations held between Maldives, Bangladesh

The first round of Bilateral Political Consultations has been held between the government of Maldives and Bangladesh.

Held as prescribed under the Memorandum of Understanding on the ‘Establishment of Bilateral Consultations’ signed between the two countries earlier this year, the consultations were joined by the Maldives Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and the Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen.

The consultations saw both foreign secretaries shedding light on the long history of close relations between both countries, which has since seen progress to much higher levels, in recent months.

They further review the wide range of cooperation and engagements between the two countries, and engaged in discussions relating to the enhancing and deepening of the multi-faceted relationship between the two countries.

The discussions saw the spotlight shed on boosting the implementation of the recent agreements signed between Maldives and Bangladesh to expedite the conclusion of other important pending agreements.

The Bangladeshi foreign secretary remarked on the importance of boosting connectivity and bilateral trade between the two nations.

Extending gratitude to his Bangladeshi counterpart, for the continued support and commitment extended to the people of Maldives, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Ghafoor shed light on the importance of cooperation in higher education and development of human resources, training and capacity building, particularly for the health sector of Maldives.

They also discussed cooperation in climate change, culture, fisheries and agriculture.

Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Ambassador Momen arrived in the Maldives on his first visit since assuming office in December 2019, on Friday, and departed on Sunday.

During his visit, Momen called on Vice President Faisal Naseem, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel.