The First Couple of the Republic of Seychelles is to make a state visit to the Maldives.

The President's Office disclosed that the President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan and First Lady Linda Ramkalawan will undertake a state visit to the Maldives from June 11-14, 2023, at the invitation of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

According to the President's Office, the visit will see official talks between the governments of the Maldives and Seychelles.

Furthermore, several agreements will be signed between the two countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation.

The visit demonstrates the strong ties between the two island nations and is expected to further enhance collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

Meanwhile, Maldives Airports Company Ltd (MACL) has announced that adjustments to the road and lagoon access of Hulhule' would be made on June 11th and 14th in preparation for the visit of the First Couple of Seychelles.

As such, some parts of Hulhule' lagoon and roads will be restricted for regular traffic between 02:00 pm to 04:00 pm on 11 June and from 05:00 pm to 06:00 pm on 14 June, 2023.

The company requests passengers travelling from domestic airlines at these times to complete the check in process prior to the restricted time.

Additionally, during these hours, MTCC bus will stop at Western Parking Area and MACL ferry will stop at Western Parking Area’s adjacent harbor.

The road from the north corner of the International Terminal to the corner of the Domestic Terminal will also be restricted during these hours.

Furthermore, marine vessels can only enter and exit the lagoon from the southernmost channel during these hours.

MACL urges vehicles and pedestrians to follow the instructions of the security personnel when using the road during these hours.

On the sidelines of the 5th UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in March 2023, President Solih met with the President of the Seychelles and held discussions on further strengthening Seychelles-Maldives relationship.

The meeting saw President Solih and President Ramkalawan holding discussions on topics topics of mutual interest, with climate change and tourism high on the agenda.

As such, both the Presidents discussed efforts to restore tourism to pre-pandemic levels.

They also discussed working together in the international arena on other issues of mutual interest, such as climate change, and playing a more prominent role in the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and as members of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).

In August 2019, the First Couple of the Maldives made a state visit to the Seychelles on an invitation by the then President of Seychelles Danny Faure. This was the first-ever state visit by a Maldivian leader to the country.

During the visit, President Solih and President Faure held bilateral talks and both countries signed seven Memoranda of Understanding (MoU); including a General Cooperation Agreement between the two governments, as well as frameworks for collaboration between the two foreign ministries, in tourism, blue economy, vocational training and youth development, and in sports cooperation. In addition, the Seychelles government has also decided to provide four annual scholarships commencing this year, for Maldivian students to study maritime fields, at the University of Seychelles.

The President’s Office described the visit as “a fruitful one, progressing our bilateral friendship,” and that President Solih had extended an invitation to “reciprocate Seychellois hospitality in the future.”

The Maldives and Seychelles established diplomatic relations on July 1, 1980.