Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has concluded a fruitful official visit to the United States of America.

As part of the visit, the Maldivian Foreign Minister reopened the Embassy of the Maldives in Washington DC, marking a return to a full-time diplomatic presence after 14 years.

Signifying the deepening cooperation between the Maldives and US, the Embassy of the Maldives to the US will serve as a vital bridge between the two countries.

Further, the Maldivian minister also held a meeting with the US Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken during the trip.

Discussions were held on the commitment of both countries to strengthening partnership in areas of trade, defence cooperation, climate change and democratic consolidation.

Shedding light on the significance of waiving visas for Maldivians travelling to the US, FM Shahid requested to increase higher education opportunities for Maldivians to study at American universities.

FM Shahid met several other senior US government officials to explore further avenues of cooperation between Maldives and the US in Washington DC.

This includes with Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy Senator Christopher Van Hollen, Chairman of Senate Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism Senator Christopher Murphy and Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer.

The Maldivian Foreign Minister also travelled to New York where he engaged with Heads of United Nations Agencies and held a productive meeting with the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres. During the meeting with the UN SG, FM Shahid reaffirmed the commitment of the Maldivian government to work together with the UN and upholding the Charter of the UN.

Meetings were also held with Deputy Secretary General of the UN Amina J. Mohamed, President of the 77th Session of the UN General Assembly Csaba Kőrösi, President-elect of the 78th Session of UNGA Ambassador Dennis Francis and the Executive Director of UN Women Sima Bahous.

As part of the visit, the Maldivian minister also sat down for discussions with the young diplomats taking part in the President of the General Assembly Fellowship, which was established during his term as the President of the 76th Session of UNGA.

He also joined the commemorative event to mark the International Day of Women in Diplomacy as a panelist and attended a reception to mark the second International Day of Women in Diplomacy, hosted by the Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the UN.

State Minister Ahmed Khaleel, Bilateral Secretary Dr. Hala Hameed, Chief of Protocol Ahmed Shiaan and Director General Ahmed Nasir accompanied the Foreign Minister on his trip.