Malé, 29 August 2023 (TDI): The Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid met with the United States Senator, Christopher Van Hollen Jr. on August 28 in Malé where the two sides discussed a wide range of issues.
The Foreign Minister of Maldives warmly welcomed the U.S. Senator, followed by reflecting on the significance of his visit as it marked the first-ever official visit from a US Congressional Delegation.
The Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid was accompanied at the meeting by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel; Foreign Secretary, Ahmed Latheef and Ambassador of the Maldives to the United States of America, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.
In addition to that, the Bilateral Secretary, Dr Hala Hameed; Secretary of Economic Cooperation Dr. Hussain Niyaaz; Joint Secretary, Shiuneen Rasheed; Director, Adam Hamid and Desk Officer, Saifulla Waleed also attended the meeting.
The Foreign Minister and US Senator held discussions on various issues, including digital infrastructure and cyber security, defence and security, democracy and good governance and human resource development.
Besides that, both sides agreed on the need to enhance higher education opportunities at American universities and to have academic exchange programmes between the two countries.
Consequently, both the Foreign Minister and U.S. Senator restated their commitments towards achieving it.
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Before concluding the meeting, the Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid paid special gratitude to the Senator for the contributions of his late father, Christopher Van Hollen Sr in the advancement of the Maldives-US partnership during his tenure as the Ambassador of the United States of America to the Maldives, serving from 1972 to 1976.
Other Visits
The U.S. Senator for Maryland, Chris Van Hollen, besides making an official visit to Maldives, will be visiting Sri Lanka and Nepal as well.
During his official visit, the Senator will work to strengthen bilateral relations of the U.S. with each of the three foregoing countries.
Chris Van Hollen is also a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.
