Foreign Minister concludes trip to Saudi Arabia

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has returned to Maldives after concluding his official visit to Saudia Arabia.

Minister Shahid returned to Male’ on Friday morning after his three-day trip, during which he met senior officials of the Saudi government.

Upon his arrival to the Gulf kingdom, Minister Shahid met Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Both ministers explored avenues to ease the procedure on obtaining Saudi visa for Maldivians and discussed the King Salman Mosque being built in Male’ City. Minister Al-Assaf reiterated Saudi Arabia’s commitment to further strengthen the historic and brotherly relations between the two countries and assured that Saudi Arabia will always remain, as a close development partner. Minister Al-Assaf also hosted a lunch in honour of Minister Shahid.

Minister Shahid then met with Dr. Majid Bin Abdullah Al Qasabi, Minister of Commerce and Investment. They discussed increasing Saudi investments in Maldives and holding a networking forum for businesses in Riyadh. The Ministers also discussed expanding cooperation in the commercial field between both countries and explored ways to further optimise the processing of Saudi Government funded scholarships offered to Maldivians.

During Minister Shahid’s meeting with Dr. Hamad Bin Sulaiman Al-Bazai, Vice Minister of Finance, assurance was given on Saudi Arabia’s commitment to assist the Maldives in achieving the developmental goals set by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration.

Shahid also met Ahmed bin Aqeel Al Khatib, Adviser at the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Fund for Development. During the meeting, Minister Shahid shared key ongoing projects as well as major projects planned by the new administration and explored areas where assistance from the Saudi Fund would be helpful. They discussed initiating projects in the areas of fisheries and housing and the ongoing development project in Velana International Airport.

Chairman Al Khatib assured continued support of the Saudi Fund to Maldives economic development and a team from the Saudi Fund for Development will be visiting Maldives in the coming week for further discussions.

Before his departure, Minister Shahid met with Dr. Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, Minister of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. During the meeting, both Ministers discussed issues relating to Maldivians performing Hajj and Umrah and explored ways to improve the services.

During the trip, Minister Shahid also visited the Maldives Embassy in Saudi Arabia.

Upon conclusion of the official Visit, Minister Shahid thanked the Saudi ministers for the discussions and dialogue and expressed confidence that the brotherly relations between both countries will continue to prosper.