Discussions have been held on increasing cooperation in trade, commerce and marine connectivity, between Maldives and Bangladesh.

The discussions were held between the Vice President of Maldives, Faisal Naseem and the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina who is currently on a State Visit to the island nation upon the invitation of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his State Visit to Bangladesh in March 2021.

During the meeting held at Hotel Jen on Thursday, the pair spoke extensively on expanding cooperation in the fields of human resource development, capacity building, trade, commerce and marine connectivity.

The pair expressed confidence to enhance the long-standing friendly relationship between the two countries and further spoke on ways to take the relationship to newer heights.

Shedding light on his visit to Dhaka, Bangladesh in November this year, VP Naseem stated that the Solih administration has been resilient in the recovery efforts from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. On this note, he thanked the support and assistance extended by the government of Bangladesh to support the efforts to battle the pandemic.

Further, VP Naseem added that the administration remains committed to respect and uphold the rights of all, going on to touch down on the regularization programme targeting undocumented foreign workers residing in the Maldives.

PM Hasina extended appreciation for the Maldivian government’s policy of ensuring vaccine equity and praised the government’s nationwide vaccination drive and overall efforts to combat Covid-19.

She went on to express the Bangladeshi government’s commitment to assist the Maldives in the sectors of information technology and enhancing healthcare services.

The Bangladeshi PM went on to discuss ways through which assistance may be extended to the Maldives education sector, by providing scholarship opportunities in a wide array of professions.

VP Naseem concluded the meeting by praising the socio-economic developmental progress of Bangladesh, over the years. He expressed confidence that the Bangladeshi PM and government will bring extensive development to the country.

As Bangladesh commemorated the centenary birth anniversary of Bangladesh’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman this year, VP Naseem extended felicitations to the country’s PM on the occasion.