Malé, 31 January 2022 (TDI): Yesterday morning, on 30 January, the Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mevlüt Çavusoglu, called upon the President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
The two parties held a formal discussion on the bilateral relations between Turkey and Maldives, in addition to other topics of mutual interest.
GREETINGS AND FELICITATIONS
The high-level exchange was organized at the President’s Office in Malé, where President Solih warmly welcomed his guest to the Maldives.
He further extended well wishes to his Turkish counterpart, the President of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan. In turn, the Foreign Minister also expressed on behalf of President Erdogan, his felicitations towards the President of Maldives.
PROSPECTS FOR BILATERAL COOPERATION
Then, both sides directed their talks towards the existing diplomatic ties between the two countries. They highlighted that the previous year of 2021 commemorated their 42nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.
President Solih noted that this interaction was an exemplification of Maldives’ firm commitment to furthering ties with its Turkish ally. Additionally, the President and Minister exchanged views on enhancing cooperation between Maldives and Turkey in various fields.
They particularly touched upon tourism, air connectivity, trade, fisheries, infrastructure, climate change, and peace and security.
In association with that, they also mentioned that five Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) would be signed later that day. These would play a role in enhancing the Maldives-Turkey relationship.
Furthermore, President Solih also conveyed the Maldivian Government’s appreciation of Turkey’s generous offer to donate Covid-19 vaccination resources.
The Turkish Government promised 20,000 doses of the Sinovac vaccine to the Maldives. The objective of this initiative was to provide health relief to the Maldivian people.
As the meeting drew to a close, the Turkish Foreign Minister on his part expressed his resolve to continue working towards the future development of bilateral relations between Turkey and the Maldives.
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