Turkey to facilitate visa-free travel for Maldivians

Maldives and Turkey are to sign a visa facilitation agreement to allow Maldivians to travel to the middle-eastern country without acquiring a prior visa.

This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid during a press conference host jointly with Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye who recently concluded an official visit to the Maldives.

As part of the visit which began on January 28, the foreign ministers of Maldives and Turkey engaged in official talks on Saturday, which was followed by a joint press conference.

During the presser, the Maldivian foreign minister revealed that he had proposed to establish a visa-free regime between the two countries to ease travel and for the enhancement of the people-to-people contact between the two countries.

He went on to note that he expressed appreciation for the existing e-visa arrangement for Maldivians to travel to Turkey during his talks with his Turkish counterpart.

Further speaking, the Maldivian minister stated that his Turkish counterpart’s visit mirrors the middle-eastern nation’s commitment to engage with the Maldives and clearly signals the goodwill Turkey holds towards the Maldivian people.

FM Shahid highlighted that the brotherly bonds between the two countries have grown stronger with Turkey’s contribution to the socio-economic development of the Maldives.

Maldives and Turkey established diplomatic relations on 28 May 1979, since then, both countries have maintained closed diplomatic relations in multiple sectors.

Turkey is also one of the most popular travel destinations for zealous travelers in the Maldives, with many Maldivians travelling to the picturesque Turkey over the course of the past few years.