Vice President Faisal Naseem has reiterated to consider the Maldives’ requests for tariff concessions on tuna exports, to the United Kingdom.

The vice president made the request during a meeting held with UK’s High Commissioner to Maldives, Caron Rohsler, on Wednesday.

At the meeting held at the President’s Office, Naseem urged the UK Government to “positively consider” Maldives’ requests for tariff concessions on tuna exports, emphasizing that the country “exclusively uses pole and line methods for its fisheries, making its tuna the most sustainably fished in the world”.

While fishing is the second largest industry in the Maldives, a majority of Maldives’ export revenue is sourced from exports of fish.

Vice President Naseem also thanked the UK government for its decision to include the Maldives in its travel corridor list, allowing travelers to return to the UK from the Maldives without undergoing mandatory self-isolation from October 25.

Noting that the UK remains one of the country’s largest tourism markets, VP Naseem said that the Maldives “is happy that an increasing number of UK tourists have been visiting [the country] following the gradual reopening of borders”.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, a total of 4,745 tourists have arrived in the island nation since border were reopened on July 15, making it the third highest source market for tourism. There have been 36,194 arrivals from the UK since January.

While Rohsler recently concluded one year since her appointment as high commissioner, the vice president noted that the relationship between both nations “has gone from strength to strength" during her tenure. Rohsler is the first resident high commissioner of the United Kingdom to the Maldives.

He also thanked the high commissioner for her efforts to expedite Maldives effort to rejoin the Commonwealth earlier this year, which was confirmed in February.

The two also spoke on the Covid-19 response efforts by both nations, as well as on coordinating government efforts and messaging to better control the pandemic.

They also discussed cooperation with regard to a range of areas including education, the economy and trade, tourism, multilateral engagement, and coordinating efforts to preserve the environment and address the climate emergency.

Further, Vice President Naseem and the UK high commissioner expressed their mutual commitment to strengthen the already excellent ties between the two nations.