FM Shahid concludes visit to Romania

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has concluded his four-day visit to Romania.

While the minister traveled to southeastern European country on the invitation of his counterpart Teodor Meleșcanu on Thursday, he held a number of high-level meetings during the trip.

This year marks four decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Romania and the Maldives.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel and Assistant Director at the foreign ministry, Fathimath Razana accompanied the minister on the trip.

Establishment of a consultation and cooperation mechanism

Ministers Shahid and Meleșcanu signed an MoU on Friday, for the establishment of a consultation and cooperation mechanism. Photo: Foreign Ministry

A joint press release issued on Monday notes that the two foreign ministers met for a round of bilateral consultations on Friday, and reviewed the ongoing cooperation between both countries.

Both ministers also expressed their interest in further consolidating the bilateral relations.

They also consulted “on avenues of cooperation in trade, tourism, education, food industry, as well as on opportunities for exchange of technical expertise in the areas of disaster risk management and climate change.”

“The two chief diplomats also exchanged views on the current state of regional affairs and reiterated their commitment to multilateralism, while agreeing to deepen cooperation in the international fora,” reads the press release.

Ministers Shahid and Meleșcanu also signed an MoU, “which will give impetus to the bilateral political-diplomatic dialogue by establishing a mechanism for regular consultations on bilateral and regional issues.”

Other meetings

During his visit to Bucharest, Romania from 9-11 May, Minister Shahid met with various other government officials and stakeholders.

This includes a courtesy call on deputy prime minister Ana Birchall.

After the meeting, Minister Shahid tweeted that he had “very fruitful discussions on a wide range of issues of mutual interest” with the deputy PM.

The minister also met with the director general of the Diplomatic Institute of Romania, Dan Petre and exchanged views “to further strengthen the cooperation between FOSIM [the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives] and the Diplomatic Institute of Romania.”

Delighted to meet General Cristian Bizadea, Deputy Director of Romanian Intelligence Service. Exchanged views on matters of mutual interest and discussed ways to collaborate and tackle the threat of terrorism and ways to jointly work in the multinational fora.