Maldives’ Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Asim Ahmed, presented his letter of credence to WTO’s Deputy Director General on Wednesday.

The Ambassador presented the credentials to Xiaozhun Yi at an official ceremony held at Centre William Rappard in Geneva, Switzerland.

At the ceremony, Asim thanked the deputy director general for the warm welcome, and conveyed compliments from the President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

He also reaffirmed the Maldivian government’s commitment to the “rules-based multilateral trading system” and reassured the country’s intent “to further strengthen cooperation” with the World Trade Organisation.

President Solih appointed Asim as the new Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the World Trade Organisation on October 20, following approval from the People’s Majlis on October 12.

He was appointed as Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland, in August.

Maldives has been an active member of the World Trade Organization, since 31 May 1995. Prior to joining the WTO, the Maldives was a signatory to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), since 19 April 1993.