United States cooperation with the Maldives was “dramatically scaled up” since the island nation’s 2018 presidential elections, says US Bureau South and Central Asian Affairs’ Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells.
Ambassador Wells made the statement during a digital media briefing on Wednesday, ahead of her retirement this month.
At the briefing, she spoke on the “remarkable” 2018 election in the Maldives which saw a 90 percent voter turnout.
“Since that election of the reform-minded President [Ibrahim Mohamed] Solih, we have dramatically scaled up our cooperation and assistance as the Maldives has re-balanced its foreign policy, reinvigorated its democratic institutions, and redoubled its efforts against terrorists”.Ambassador Alice G. Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs
Describing the US SCA chief as “a valuable friend” of the Maldives, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid thanked the US SCA chief for her “unwavering commitment to reinstate democracy in Maldives” as well as for working with the country “to promote peace, stability and order in the Indo-Pacific region”.
The ambassador had visited the Maldives in October, shortly after President Solih’s win in the 2018 presidential elections.
