The Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has exchanged view on battling the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, with his counterpart from Afghanistan.

The minister held a telephone conversation with the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Mohammad Haneef Atmar on Sunday.

FM Shahid highlighted that the Maldives is confident that there is much scope for enhanced cooperation and collaboration with Afghanistan after the discussion with his counterpart.

During the conversation, the Maldives foreign minister shed light on the close relationship enjoyed between the two countries which are rooted from common faith and traditions.

He went on to express keenness to reinforce cooperation in new areas of collaboration, both bilaterally and within the multilateral sphere.

Minister Atmar highlighted that Maldives is a “good friend” of Afghanistan and it can immensely benefit from closer ties with the country, from trade and tourism to a range of maritime security issues of interest such as counter terrorism and counter narcotics.

Further, FM Shahid applauded the strong efforts by the government of Afghanistan in combatting the global pandemic.

The pair reaffirmed their commitment to continue working together on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual importance in order to further strengthen the friendly ties enjoyed between both countries.