A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between Maldives and Turkey, to boost the services of the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives.

During a signing ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid signed the MoU on behalf of the Maldivian government, with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye signing on behalf of the government of Turkey.

Signed was an MoU between the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives and the Diplomacy Academy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye on Diplomatic Training and Exchange of Information and Documentation.

Under the agreement, programmes to train more individuals in the foreign sector will be amped up and the Maldivian government will pave the way to introduce more employees to provide professional services with the aid of the Turkish government.

The president ratified the Maldives Foreign Service Act on 14 November 2021, mandating the establishment of a separate entity named “Foreign Service” in order to implement the foreign policy of the Maldives. It specifies the entity’s organizational structure, management policy and matter revolving around the diplomatic unit.

All of the functions of the institution under the ministry will be transformed into an institute empowered under the act, once enacted. The bill highlights that the institution will represent the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and oversee all Maldivian missions and consular posts.

The president is the highest authority tasked with overseeing and directing the Maldives foreign policy, according to the act, which goes on to authorize the minister to manage the daily execution of the service under the instructions of the president.

In addition to this, the appointment of a Foreign Secretary is also mandatory, with the responsibility of assisting the minister to execute foreign service duties.

The appointed Foreign Secretary will be the highest-ranking members of the Foreign Service staff, who are required to report to the Foreign Secretary including outside staff working in similar posts.

Upon recommendations from the minister, the president is vested the power to appoint or terminate the Foreign Secretary.