President Solih Presented With Credentials By Newly Appointed Ambassadors

On Monday, December 13^th, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was presented with credentials from three newly appointed ambassadors to the Republic of Malta, Republic of Colombia and Kingdom of Thailand.

The new High Commissioner of Malta to Maldives, Reuben Gauci was welcomed to the Maldives and congratulated on his new appointment by President Solih. Both the President and the High Commissioner underlined their willingness to improve bilateral ties between the two countries during the meeting.

More discussions on mutually advantageous sectors such as human resource development, researching higher educational opportunities, tourism sector partnership, pandemic management, and climate change objectives were held in this respect. Additional discussions were also held to look into commercial and financial collaboration.

The new Ambassador of Colombia to Maldives, Mariana Pacheco Montes was welcomed to the Maldives and congratulated on her new appointment by President Solih. The President and the Ambassador discussed a variety of issues during the meeting, including bilateral relations, trade relations, human resources, and capacity development.

President Solih had recently given a speech in Glasgow, United Kingdom, on his recent overseas travel to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in 2021, underlining that Colombia and the Maldives share a common interest in environmental protection, the Ambassador recalled. She went on to say that Colombia shares a big piece of the Amazon rainforest, and that environmental protection is critical not just for the tourism industry, but also for the country's future.

Environmental conservation and climate change, according to the President, are also crucial challenges for the Maldives. They discussed the existential threats posed by rising sea levels and how small lifestyle changes, such as switching to renewable energy and banning single-use plastics, could make a big difference.

The new Ambassador of Thailand to Maldives, Poj Harnpol was welcomed to the Maldives and congratulated on his new appointment by President Solih. Furthermore, the two country’s bilateral relations were discussed.

The President and the Ambassador reviewed potential areas of collaboration during their discussion, including investment opportunities, trade and commerce, expanding people-to-people interaction, human rights protection, and climate change mitigation. The President also emphasized the Maldivian government's commitment to looking into higher education scholarship options for Maldivians.

Furthermore, after the meetings with the President Solih, the ambassadors from the three countries met with the Foreign Secretary of Maldives, Ghafoor Mohamed. The ambassadors and the foreign secretary further discussed the bilateral relations between the countries.