Vice President Faisal Naseem has returned to Maldives after concluding his trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the fifth Indian Ocean Conference (IOC).

The Maldivian VP departed from Velana International Airport (VIA) on Thursday night and was accompanied by a delegation of high-level officials from the President’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the trip, VP Naseem attended the fifth Indian Ocean Conference as a guest of honor, where he delivered an address during the inaugural session.

In his address, VP Naseem urged for united efforts and enhanced collaboration to safeguard the resilience and security of the Indian Ocean region.

He noted that the Indian Ocean is a significant trading hub directly connected to economic well-being and added that prioritizing the security of the region is the most important item on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s foreign policy agenda.

Stressing on the evolving threats of trans-border terrorism, piracy, narco-trafficking as well as non-traditional security threats such as climate change, cyber security and human trafficking, VP Naseem noted that this requires the cooperation of all regional and international partners, as no country can safeguard the security of the region alone.

The two-day conference was held Abu Dhabi, from December 4 - December 5.

Special plenary sessions were also held on after the conference, titled “Ecology, Economy, Epidemic” this year, commences.

The trip also saw former Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe calling on VP Naseem, where discussions were held regarding the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic as well as efforts to gradually recover from the pandemic.

Extending gratitude for the generous hospitality extended by the government of Sri Lanka to the Maldivian community residing in the neighboring country, the vice president shed light on the Sri Lankan government’s contribution to the island nation’s education sector including vocational training and to the health sector.

VP Naseem highlighted the island nation’s efforts to address the climate crisis and urged the whole world to take action, revealing that that Maldives is investing immensely in environmental protection.

When inquired about tourism progress in the island nation, VP Naseem briefed the former Sri Lankan PM on the slow recovery of the sector, after suffering immensely from impacts of the pandemic.

He also held meetings with officials from the India Foundation and Institute of National Security Studies (INSS) of Sri Lanka.

The two meetings were held separately where VP Naseem held discussions with Ram Madhav, a member of the governing council of the India Foundation and Professor Rohan Gunaratna, the Director-General of Sri Lanka’s INSS.

Discussions with both officials revolved around recovery efforts from the Covid-19 pandemic and climate action.

Extensive discussions were also held regarding the importance of strengthening partnerships to address multinational issues of concern.

VP Naseem also visited the Embassy of the Maldives in Abu Dhabi.