Columbia and Maldives share common interests on the environment protection front, says new Ambassador of Colombia to Maldives, Mariana Pacheco Montes.

The new ambassador made this remark during a meeting with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, held after the ceremony to present her credentials on Monday.

Congratulating the ambassador on the commencement of her tenure, the Maldivian president welcomed her to the Maldives and engaged in discussions revolving around a wide-array of topics including enhancing bilateral relations, trade relations, human resources, and capacity development.

Recalling a speech from President Solih during his visit to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties; COP26 Summit 2021 held in Glasgow, United Kingdom in November, the Columbian ambassador stated that Columbia and Maldives share a common interest on the front of environment protection.

As such, she noted that her country shares a large portion of the Amazon rainforest, with which being said the survival of Colombia as a nation heavily depends on the protection of the environment. She also noted that it is importance for the tourism sector of the country.

President Solih reiterated this sentiment, stating that environmental protection and climate change are also critical issues for the Maldives.

Existential threats posed by rising sea levels and the way small lifestyle changes could go “a long way”, including switching to renewable energy and the ban of single-use plastics, were also discussed at the meeting.

Expressing that the administration’s top priority is development, the president said that Maldives is interested in welcoming foreign investments to the country in a wide scope of areas including the higher education sector and manufacturing.

Extensive discussions were also held on tourism and how the island nation managed to reopen borders to welcome tourists, after the pandemic.

The pair ended the meeting by expressing hope for enhanced ties between the two countries.