Minister for Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has held a telephonic meeting regarding the Covid-19 pandemic with Pakistan counterpart, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

During the call that took place on Monday, discussions between the two ministers focused on collaborative avenues to combat the Covid-10 pandemic.

Minister Shahid began the call by extending greetings on behalf of the Maldives to the people of the fellow Muslim nation on the historic occasion of Pakistan Day and expressed solidarity with Pakistan while highlighting the efforts of Pakistan's Government in addressing the situation.

He went onto describe the economic impact of the pandemic of the Maldives' economy and briefed Minister Qureshi on the measures undertaken by the Maldives to curb the spread of COVID-19. In response, Pakistan Foreign Minister Qureshi commended the stringent measures taken by the Maldives to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country, especially in regard to tourism and expressed his hope for the Maldives tourism sector to recover.

Minister Shahid also thanked the Government of Pakistan for their continuous support and both ministers guaranteed the safety of the other country's nationals within their respective countries. As such, FM Qureshi requested the Maldivian government's assistance in the return of four Pakistani tourists stuck in the Maldives.

Further, Minister Shahid iterated President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s call for a comprehensive regional strategy against the Covid-19 pandemic at the SAARC leaders’ video conference, which Minister Qureshi highly praised and repeated Pakistan’s proposition to host the SAARC Health Ministers’ Conference.

Moreover, Minister Shahid further informed Foreign Minister Qureshi of the Maldives' USD 200,000 pledge to the COVID-19 emergency relief fund and expressed support for the SAARC Development Fund's proposal to assemble USD five million as grant assistance from the organisations budget for COVID-19 emergency efforts.

Additionally, Minister Qureshi congratulated the Maldives on the country's return to the commonwealth and accepted Minister Shahid's invitation to undertake an official visit to the Maldives.

Both ministers agreed to work closely to achieve mutual goals for regional peace, development and prosperity.