The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives and the British High Commission issue the following joint press statement on the Official Visit to the Maldives by Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, Minister of State for South and Central Asia, UN and the Commonwealth, and Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict of the United Kingdom. The Minister of State for South and Central Asia, UN and the Commonwealth, and Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, arrived in the Maldives on an official visit on 15 February 2022.
During this visit, Lord Ahmad paid a courtesy call on the President of the Republic of Maldives, His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and discussed the on-going cooperation between the Maldives and the United Kingdom.
Lord Ahmad met the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Ahmed Khaleel, and discussed the bilateral partnership between the Maldives and the United Kingdom and potential avenues for expanding cooperation between the two countries.
On his visit, Lord Ahmad officially opened the British High Commission in Malé, and paid a courtesy call on the Speaker of the People’s Majlis, Honourable President Mohamed Nasheed, MP. Additionally, Lord Ahmad also held meetings with various Government Ministers and visited Addu City.
In Addu City, Lord Ahmad held meetings with the Addu City Council and Women’s Development Committee, the Maldives National Defence Force Southern Area Command, and paid visits to the British War Memorial in Addu, and the Addu Nature Park.
During the bilateral discussions, the Maldives and the United Kingdom agreed to hold regular Bilateral Policy Dialogues between the Maldives and the United Kingdom with the aim to further strengthen existing bilateral relations and explore new avenues for enhancing bilateral and economic cooperation, and people-to-people contact including UK tariff on tuna exported from the Maldives. In this regard, the first Bilateral Policy Dialogue will be held later this year.
With a view to increase cooperation between the Maldives and the United Kingdom in different fields, the Maldives and the United Kingdom agreed to further enhance the long-standing cooperation between the two countries in the fields of defence and security matters. The United Kingdom currently provides assistance to the Maldives in the area of defence training, countering terrorism and prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism, enhancing good governance, judicial reform, and promotion of human rights.
Highlighting the impacts of climate change on the Maldives and the United Kingdom, and emphasising the shared interest in promoting sustainability and effective climate action, the Maldives and the United Kingdom agreed to continue working together on issues of climate change, environmental protection, and sustainable development. The Maldives and the United Kingdom also agreed to continue supporting climate action initiatives of both countries.
Lord Ahmad’s visit was the first high level visit to the Maldives from the United Kingdom since 2018.