Minister of Defence Mariya Didi has travelled to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on invitation of Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

Minister Mariya travelled to Abu Dhabi on Friday to attend the International Defence Exhibition & Conference to be held from February 16 to 21.

IDEX is a biennial arms and defence technology sales exhibition and the largest arms exhibition in the Middle East.

The defence ministry stated that this exhibition will allow Maldives to develop relations with other military forces and experts in the field.

During her trip, Minister Mariya will be meeting with senior officials of the UAE government to discuss possible assistance in the development of Maldives’ defence sector.

Minister Mariya earlier visited India, where she met Minister of Defence Nirmala Sitharaman and joined India’s Republic Day celebrations.