FM Shahid heads to Serbia on an official visit

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid is in Serbia on an official visit.

The Maldivian minister arrived in Belgrade, Serbia, on an official visit on Monday evening.

His visit to Serbia is from May 8 – 10.

Taking to Twitter following his arrival in Serbia, FM Shahid expressed confidence that the visit would be an instrumental milestone in solidifying the partnership between Maldives and Serbia, and that he looked forward to holding productive discussions with his Serbian counterpart, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, Ivica Dačić.

The visit will see the two foreign ministers holding bilateral discussions.

Further, FM Shahid will also be signing five key agreements as part of the visit.

The agreements include an agreement on the Abolition of Visas for Holders of Diplomatic and Official Passports, an agreement on Trade, Investment and Economic Cooperation as well as an Air Services Agreement between the two governments.

Further, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to be signed between the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Serbia’s Foreign Ministry on Cooperation in the field of Diplomatic Education.

An MoU in the Field of Sports will also be signed between the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment of Maldives and the Ministry of Sports of Serbia.

This is the second official visit FM Shahid has undertaken to Serbia.

His first official visit was back in November 2022, upon the official invitation from his Serbian counterpart.

During his first official visit, FM Shahid explored avenues to further strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries during bilateral talks with his Serbian counterpart.

The visit also saw the signing of an MoU on Bilateral Political Consultations between the two ministries. The MoU paves the path to periodic consultations between the Foreign Ministries of Maldives and Serbia. It was also expected to provide a framework to review and examine aspects of the bilateral relations between the two countries.

The ongoing visit signifies a step towards greater bilateral exchange between Serbia and Maldives, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.