President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has expressed interest to cooperate with academic institutions in Austria to increase education opportunities for Maldivian students.

Following a ceremony held at the President’s Office on Monday where Ambassador of Austria to Maldives, Katharina Wieser presented her Letter of Credence to the Maldivian president, the pair engaged in discussions regarding a wide array of topics, including bilateral and multilateral relations, Covid-19, education and human resource development, visa facilitation, tourism cooperation as well as climate change.

Acknowledging the important progress in bilateral ties between both nations, President Solih expressed gratitude for the Austrian government’s continued support and cooperation.

He briefed the Austrian Ambassador on the ongoing situation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic in the Maldives, including his administration’s ambitious goals to revitalize the economy in the wake of the pandemic, which was praised by the ambassador, who said that the sound decisions made by the Maldivian government had led to the successful management of Covid-19 in the island nation.

She also congratulated the vaccination efforts of Maldivian authorities.

Going on to touch down on enhancing cooperation in the fields of education and human resource development, the president revealed his interest to cooperate with academic institutions in Austria in a bid to increase opportunities for locals.

Ambassador Wieser assured that she would explore the possibility of strengthening cooperation in this field.

Further discussions touched down on climate change and the Maldives’ role in the international arena, on which the ambassador congratulated Maldives for efforts in climate change action advocacy, stating that Austria places a high value on multilateral cooperation in its foreign policy.

President Solih also thanked the government of Austria for easing visa facilitations for Maldivian travelers and expressed his wish to obtain visa-free travel for Maldivian travelers to member countries of the European Union (EU).

The Maldivian president expressed confidence that the partnerships between both countries will be continued during Wieser’s ambassadorial tenure.

Diplomatic relations were established between Maldives and Austria on 1 March 1978.