Malé, 27 November 2021 (TDI): On 26 November, the Bangladesh Foreign Secretary, Masud Bin Momen arrived in Malé. The Foreign Secretary traveled to the Maldives due to the invitation made by the Maldives Foreign Secretary, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.
BILATERAL CONSULTATIONS UNDER THE MEMORANDUM
The invite from the Secretary was to hold the first bilateral consultations, between the two foreign Ministries. The reason for the First Bilateral Consultations between Bangladesh and the Maldives is the Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of Bilateral Consultations.
Both countries signed that Memorandum in March 2021. During this official visit, both sides will review bilateral cooperation and also progress, to establish their mutual agreements. The Secretaries will also discuss new areas of cooperation.
Bin Momen, along with his esteemed delegation, was warmly welcomed at Velana International Airport by Aishath Shaan Shakir, Maldives’ Chief of Protocol, and Joint Secretary Fathimath Ghina.
https://twitter.com/MoFAmv/status/1464187862341931022?s=20FURTHER OBJECTIVES OF THE VISIT
Both Foreign Secretaries hope to cross-examine the state of the current diplomatic relations between Bangladesh and the Maldives during this monumental exchange. Furthermore, they also plan on reviewing progress in the execution of prior agreements already established between the two countries.
To add to that, they further intend to discuss new avenues of bilateral cooperation.
ADDITIONAL PLANS
Faisal Naseem, Vice President of Maldives, expected a call from Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen. In addition, Momen will further call Uz. Fayyaz Ismail, the Minister of Economic Development, and lastly, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel, during his two-day visit. The aforementioned officials are all representatives of the Maldivian Parliament.
THE BANGLADESHI DELEGATION
Bin Momen’s delegation from Bangladesh constitutes high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Expatriates Welfare and Employment as well as the Ministry of Home Affairs of Bangladesh.
MALDIVES-BANGLADESH RELATIONS
The Maldives established an official diplomatic relationship with Bangladesh on 22 September 1978. 30 years later, in 2008, Maldives set up its High Commission in Bangladesh.
In recent times, Bangladesh offered substantial support to the Maldives to combat Covid-19. A Bangladesh Air Force medical team was sent to assist in the Covid-19 vaccination program in 2021.
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