Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid is in Sri Lanka, to attend the Fourth Session of the Maldives – Sri Lanka Joint Commission.

FM Shahid touched down in Colombo on the official visit on Wednesday.

Following his arrival, he had a productive meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart, M.U.M Ali Sabry, where FM Shahid expressed gratitude for the Sri Lankan government’s keen willingness to ease the procedure for obtaining visa for Maldivian students under 18 years of age, on a reciprocal basis.

During the visit, FM Shahid will lead the Maldives delegation at the fourth session of the Joint Commission between the two countries.

The fourth session of the Joint Commission is being held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka on June 7.

The ministerial meeting is preceded by the Senior Officials Meeting.

As part of the visit, FM Shahid will also be paying a courtesy call on the Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Dinesh Gunawardena as well as his counterpart, Minister Sabry.

Under the Agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation between the two countries, the Maldives – Sri Lanka Joint Commission was established in 1984.

It provides a platform for the two countries to review, deliberate and establish cooperation frameworks on areas and issues of mutual importance in both bilateral and multilateral spheres.

Trade and investment, tourism, culture, education, health, fisheries, defence, legal and law enforcement, youth and regional and international cooperation are some of the topics included in the agenda at the Senior Officials Meeting.

On the margins of the Joint Commission, the two countries are scheduled to sign several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs).

The Maldivian government hosted the third session of the Maldives – Sri Lanka Joint Commission back in 2017, in the capital, Malé City.

Foreign Secretary Ahmed Latheef, Secretary of Economic Development Dr. Hussain Niyaaz, Bilateral Secretary Dr. Hala Hameed and Assistant Director Aishath Fareena accompany the foreign minister during the visit.