Official talks held between Maldives, Türkiye

Official talks have been held between the governments of Maldives and Türkiye.

President of Maldives Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and the President of Türkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan engaged in the official talks at the Presidential Palace in Ankara on Monday, as part of President Muizzu’s ongoing official visit to Turkey.

Shedding light on the strong bilateral partnership between Maldives and Türkiye, President Muizzu expressed confidence that the ties will be expanded to new areas of cooperation including trade, investment, renewable energy as well as higher education during his presidential term.

President Muizzu went on to express appreciation to the government and people of Türkiye for the support extended to the Maldives in multiple areas of socio-economic development.

During the official talks, President Erdoğan congratulated President Muizzu on his election victory and being sworn in as the eighth president of Maldives.

Noting that him and his people are honored that President Muizzu chose Türkiye for his first official visit as the President of Maldives, the Turkish president expressed confidence that the visit will assist in the commencement of a new chapter in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

During the talks, both leaders reviewed progress achieved in a wide array of areas in the bilateral cooperation between the two countries and agreed on a roadmap for further boosting cooperation between the two countries.

Shedding light on Israel’s war on Palestine, the two leaders condemned the inhumane attacks in the strongest terms and expressed mutual hope that the current pause in hostilities will become a cease-fire and eventually bring an end to the genocide.

The Maldivian president and Turkish president expressed their belief that a permanent solution for peace in Palestine can only be attained through the establishment of a sovereign and independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as its capital within pre-1967 borders, and that Israel should end the illegal occupation of Palestine immediately and return the lands forcefully seized from Palestinians.

Following the official talks, the two leaders witnessed the signing of an “Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation Between the Government of the Republic of Maldives and the Government of the Republic Of Türkiye”.

The agreement was signed by Minister of Economic Development Mohamed Saeed and Minister of Trade of Turkey Professor Dr. Ömer Bolat.

The Maldivian leader was accompanied by Minister of Defence Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer, Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Tourism Ibrahim Faisal, Minister at the President’s Office Ali Arif, Principal Secretary to the President of Foreign Relations Mohamed Naseer, Principal Advisor to the President on Trade and Investment Mohamed Ali Janah, Ambassador at Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ali Naseer Mohamed at the official talks.

The Maldivian First Couple is on their first official visit in Turkey from November 26 – 29. They are accompanied by a high-level delegation of senior government officials and Cabinet Ministers.