Government of Maldives will ensure the country’s independence and sovereignty are safeguarded when establishing deeper ties with other nations, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

During the meeting held with the Maldivian community residing in Singapore, President Solih also said that his government will prioritize the economic development of the country when establishing ties with well-wishers.

While the First Couple are on a state visit to the Southeast Asian nation, they were received by Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Defense Maliki Osman.

Shedding light on the long-standing historic relationship between Maldives and Singapore, Solih noted that this visit is intended to strengthen the existing bilateral ties and reinvigorate the cooperation between the two countries on a myriad of fields with the establishment of two Memorandums of Understanding, as Singapore has always been a close development partner.

Since its inauguration, the government has been working tirelessly on improving foreign relations between Maldives and other nations and that it will not allow anything that will risk the country’s independence.

Solih went on to shed light on some of the government’s work to restore links with foreign parties, including re-joining the Commonwealth of Nations.

Further, he said that once Maldives resumes membership of the Commonwealth, all benefits and assistance that were previously provided by the organization will once again be restored.

Solih also highlighted that many Maldivians are currently employed in Singapore especially in the technical sector, going on to commend the community for their talents.

During the meeting, he also shed light on the Maldives Embassy’s work carried out to create an online platform to provide their services and ease the different processes for Maldivians residing in the country.

Solih is scheduled to attend a banquet hosted by President Yacob in his honor. He will also be escorted to site visits at Singapore’s ISD Counter-Terrorism Center.

While this is the president’s first official trip to the Southeast Asian nation, he had traveled there in February this year.