Mariyam Midhfa Naeem

Joint Secretary

Biography

Mariyam Midhfa Naeem is Joint Secretary heading the Multilateral Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, since October 2022, where she advises the Minister of Foreign Affairs on Maldives engagement in multilateral organisations. Midhfa also coordinates multilateral engagement abroad with national stakeholeders.

Midhfa began her career in the multilateral department in May 2007, as a junior officer. She got promoted on merit to head the United Nations Division in the International Affairs Department at Director Level in 2014, where she coordinated and provided guidance on all matters related to the Maldives engagements at the UN, UN system in the Maldives, as well as candidatures. Notably, she worked on the campaign to elect the Maldives to the Security Council in 2018, and the UN Human Rights Council in 2013, and the Sub-Committee on Prevention of Torture in 2011. Midhfa also worked on the campaigns to elect Maldives as the President of the General Assembly in 2021, and the UN Human Rights Council in 2022.

Midhfa worked as a Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the UN in New York from 2015 to 2017, where she was the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States on sustainable development. She shaped and executed negotiation strategy for Small Island Developing States, on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Reduction, and the New Urban Agenda.

Between 2017 and 2018, Midhfa worked as Director at the Foreign Service Institute of Maldives, planning and executing the Strategic Action Plan for the Institute, and crafting new programmes, most notably, the Skills Development and Enhancement Programme, the Foreign Service Officer Introductory Programme, the Lecture Series, and the Stakeholder Engagement Programme.

From October 2018 to August 2021, Midhfa headed the India Division as Joint Secretary, where she oversaw the Maldives-India relationship, providing direction and shaping policy, and overseeing the development projects between both countries, liaising with a multitude of national stakeholders.

Midhfa was Deputy Chef de Cabinet to the President of the 76th session of the General Assembly Abdulla Shahid, where she oversaw engagements on sustainable development. She was responsible for execution of several initiatives of the Presidency of Hope, including high level meetings on climate change, tourism, environment, Africa’s development, road safety, and the first International Migration Review Forum.

Midhfa has a Masters in Public Policy from the Lee Kwan Yew School of Public Policy, NUS, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Studies from the University of Warwick.