Foreign minister departs on official visit to US, UK

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has departed on an official visit to the United States and to the United Kingdom.

According to the Foreign Ministry, he is due to meet senior officials of both governments.

During his trip to Washington DC, Minister Shahid will be meeting top officials from the Department of State and the Department of the Treasury in which he will explore means to enhance bilateral cooperation between the United States and the Maldives, and discuss ongoing programmes to assist the Maldives in its democratic consolidation.

The Foreign Ministry stated that he will then travel to New York to deliver a statement on behalf of the Maldives at the United Nations Security Council Open-Debate on the topic of “Addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security”. Minister Shahid will also meet with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and other senior officials of the UN.

After concluding his visit to the United States, Minister Shahid will travel to the United Kingdom to attend a meeting of the Governing Council of the Community of Democracies. He will also meet with the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, and senior officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom during his visit to London.

Minister Shahid will also travel to the United Arab Emirates during and hold bilateral talks with senior government officials as a follow-up to the recent visit to the country by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Minister Shahid is part of a high-level delegation that also includes Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of National Planning and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, and Policy Secretary at the President's Office Aminath Shauna.

Minister Shahid is also accompanied on this visit by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel.