Foreign Minister Shahid Meets Foreign Secretary & Senior Officials From the UK Government

Yesterday, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Abdulla Shahid met with UK Foreign Secretary and other senior officials of the UK government. The Foreign Minister met with the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the UK, the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly during the morning hours of yesterday.

At the meeting, Minister Shahid extended his congratulations to the Foreign Secretary on his reappointment and assured him that the Government of Maldives will continue to work with the UK on areas of mutual interest. The Minister and the Secretary also reflected on the existing bilateral ties between the two countries and explored avenues to further strengthen cooperation, particularly in areas of trade and tourism. In this regard, they discussed obtaining duty-free access to the UK, for fish and fish products from the Maldives.

In his official visit to the UK, Minister Shahid also met other senior government officials of the UK. This included Minister of State for the Middle East, South Asia and the United Nations at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord Tariq Ahmed of Wimbledon and Minister for Asia, Energy, Climate and Environment, The Rt. Hon. Lord Goldsmith and Minister for Development at the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, The Rt. Hon. Andrew Mitchell.

During the meeting, Minister Shahid emphasized the longstanding diplomatic relations between the UK and the Maldives and reaffirmed the interest of the Maldivian Government to pursue cooperation both bilaterally and in the multilateral sphere. Additionally, the Minister also paid a visit to the Deputy Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC), Sir Hugo Swire as well as members of the parliament as part of his visit.

The Foreign Minister is joined in his visit by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel, High Commissioner to the UK, Dr. Farahanaaz Faizal. Joint Secretary, Shiuneen Rasheed and Counsellor at the High Commission of Maldives in UK, Moosa Yameen Shahid