Discussions have been held on boosting the ties between Maldives and Philippines.

The discussions were held between Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid and Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Philippines Enrique A. Manalo.

FM Shahid called on the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Philippines on the sidelines of his ongoing official visit to Tokyo, Japan.

In a Twitter post following his meeting with Secretary Manalo, FM Shahid expressed his pleasure in meeting him and noted that extensive discussions were held on how to scale up the ties between the two countries.

FM Shahid also noted that Maldives and Philippines will be marking 50 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, in 2023.

In a separate Twitter post, Secretary Manalo described the meeting to have been “excellent”, adding that they had mutually agreed to take steps to enhance cooperation in time for the 50th anniversary since the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Secretary Manalo went on to state that Maldives and Philippines enjoy warm people-to-people ties and valuable partnerships in the United Nations including in pushing for global climate action.

FM Shahid arrived in Tokyo on Monday. His visit is to participate in the Munich Leader’s Meeting (MIM) being held in Tokyo.

MIM Tokyo is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday.

The Maldivian minister is also scheduled to meet with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hayashi Yoshimasa, and other Ministers attending the Munich Leader’s Meeting on the margins of the visit.

The Munich Leader’s Meeting is organized by the Munich Security Conference and is designed to take place as a 24-hour off the record meeting in various capitals across the world. It brings together heads of government and international organizations, ministers, parliamentarians, civil society representatives, leading CEOs and high-level private sector representatives as well as reputable journalists to discuss and debate about international security policy and regional security challenges.

The Munich Leader’s Meeting is being held in partnership with the government of Japan and features high-level roundtables with specific thematic focus, held under Chatham House rules.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel, Joint Secretary at the foreign ministry Mariyam Midhfa Naeem, Director at the foreign ministry Hussain Jahhaz and Assistant Director at the foreign ministry Mohamed Shujau accompany the foreign minister during the trip.