Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasina concludes fruitful State Visit to Maldives

The official programme of Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina’s State Visit to Maldives has ended.

The Bangladeshi PM arrived in the Maldives at around 3:30pm, Wednesday and was received by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel at the Velana International Airport.

Her State Visit came upon the invitation of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during his State Visit to Bangladesh during March 2021.

The Bangladeshi PM was welcomed at the Presidential Jetty by the Maldivian president on Thursday morning, where she was honored with a 21-gun salute by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF), with the Maldivian military brass band having played the national anthems of both nations.

PM Hasina was escorted to the President’s Office by a cultural procession following the welcoming courtesies. At the President’s Office the Bangladeshi PM signed the visitor’s book.

This was followed by official talks held between both governments where senior delegates from both nations were in attendance.

Dialogues were held on improving existing relations in numerous sectors where mutual arrangements are shared between the two countries including trade, investment, connectivity, health, culture, agriculture, Information and Communication Technology, human resources development, consular and community welfare.

Following this, the leaders presided over a ceremony to exchange multiple Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).

The agreements exchanged include a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the Recruitment of Qualified Health Professionals, signed between the Maldivian Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of Bangladesh.

The second agreement was to renew the MoU in the areas of Healthcare and Medical Sciences, signed between the health ministries of both countries.

These agreement was signed by Minister of Health, Ahmed Naseem and Bangladeshi Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Zahid Maleque.

Another agreement, signed between Maldivian Minister of Youth, Sports, and Community Empowerment, Ahmed Mahloof, and Bangladeshi Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen, was on Cooperation in the Areas of Youth and Sports Development.

The final agreement is titled the “Elimination of Double Taxation with Respect to the Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance” between both countries, exchanged between Commissioner-General of Taxation of the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) Fathuhulla Jameel, and the Chairman of the National Board of Revenue of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Abu Hena Md. Rahmatul Muneem.

The Maldivian government also received a donation of military vehicles from the Bangladeshi government followed by the agreement exchange.

The symbolic handover ceremony took place in the presence of Maldives’ Chief of Defense Force, Major General Abdulla Shamaal, and General S. M. Shafiuddin Ahmed, Chief of Army Staff of Bangladesh.

This was followed by a joint press conference, where PM Hasina and President Solih delivered a statement on the traditionally and historically close ties enjoyed between both countries.

The official agenda of the Bangladeshi PM also included courtesy calls by Vice President Faisal Naseem, Speaker of Parliament and Former President Mohamed Nasheed, Chief Justice, Ahmed Muhthasim Adnan and Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

She also delivered an address at the People’s Majlis on Thursday.

The Maldivian First Couple hosted a state banquet in her honor at Kurumba Maldives on Thursday evening, with which the official programme of PM Hasina’s State Visit came to an end.

The Bangladeshi PM will depart Maldives on December 27.

PM Hasina was accompanied on the trip by a high-level delegation, including Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. A.K. Abdul Momen, MP, Minister of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, Imran Ahmad, MP, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Zahid Maleque, MP, and senior officials of the government of Bangladesh.