Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, His Excellency Hayashi Yoshimasa, held bilateral discussions today at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
During the Meeting, Minister Shahid welcomed Minister Hayashi and the delegation, to the Foreign Ministry and highlighted the enduring strength of the Maldives-Japan partnership and the close people-to-people engagement and friendship.
Both Foreign Minister Shahid, and Minister Hayashi reflected on the close historical relationship between Maldives and Japan and exchanged views on key areas of bilateral and multilateral interests. They agreed to work closely together on important issues of mutual interests, in further enhancing the close relations between the two countries.
Minister Shahid thanked Minister Hayashi and Japanese Government for the generous assistance that Japan has provided over nearly five decades of cooperation. He emphasized that the most visible impact of Japan's support within Male’ City is the Seawall, which is the most symbolic assistance provided by Japan. Minister Shahid also mentioned the significant role Japan played in the socio-economic development of the Maldives. He noted in particular, the contribution of Japan towards the expansion of the education services by building schools across the archipelago in the 1970s and 1980s; the technical assistance provided for the development of the fisheries industry; the assistance provided in establishing the telecommunications infrastructure which was vital for the growth of our tourism industry; and the contributions of Japan towards capacity building through the Human Resource Development Scholarship Programme. Minister Shahid expressed his appreciation to the Government of Japan for their continuous support and partnership in these critical areas, which have had a profound and positive impact on the development and well-being of the Maldives.
Minister Shahid expressed his gratitude to the Government and people of Japan for their generosity in providing the much-needed assistance to the Maldives during the COVID-19 pandemic by facilitating a crisis response emergency support loan of approximately USD 47 million and also donated 112,000 AstraZeneca vaccines to combat the pandemic.
Minister Shahid expressed appreciation for Japan’s recent assistance in the field of maritime security and reaffirmed the Government of Maldives’ strong commitment to the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan (FOIP)” announced by Prime Minister Kishida in March this year.
Both Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen the partnership bilaterally, through economic and development cooperation and in the international for a by working together on global issues such as climate change, and cooperation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals as well as international peace and security.
ENDS