Views have been exchanged on enhancing collaboration between the governments of Maldives and the Gambia.

This was done during a meeting held between the newly appointed Non-Resident High Commissioner of the Republic of The Gambia to Maldives, Mustapha Jawara and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel.

The meeting took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday.

The meeting was joined by Joint Secretary Fathimath Najwa and Assistant Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ali Zahir.

During the meeting with the state minister, the high commissioner thanked Khaleel for the warm reception and assured of his commitment for greater levels of support and engagement from the Gambia during his tenure.

The meeting also saw the state minister congratulating the new Gambian high commissioner on presenting his credentials, and welcoming him to the Maldives.

Discussions were also held on the friendly bilateral relations between the two countries as well as ways through which the collaboration can be enhanced in areas of mutual interest and the scope for further areas of cooperation.

Jawara presented his Letter of Credence to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as the first non-resident High Commissioner of the Gambia to Maldives, on Monday.

Following the credentials ceremony, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid had congratulated the new Gambian high commissioner and expressed confidence that more intensified cooperation will be observed during his tenure.

After presenting his credentials, the new Gambian high commissioner discussed mutually beneficial trade opportunities between Maldives and Gambia with the president of Maldives.

Discussions also revolved around bilateral, multilateral relations and expanding mutually beneficial trade opportunities.

The meeting saw the Gambian HC expressing keen interest to collaborate with the government of Maldives, to exchange knowledge and expertise in agriculture, tourism and fisheries.

He went on to express interest to seek assistance to train diplomats from the Gambia through the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives (FOSIM). In this regard, the Maldivian president assured him that this request would be fully considered.

Diplomatic relations were established between Maldives and the Gambia on 3 July 1989.