Envoys have a heavy responsibility to strengthen and sustain relations between countries, says Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
He said this during a meeting with Non-Resident High Commissioners and Ambassadors accredited to the Maldives based in New Delhi, on Tuesday.
As such, the interactions took place during a reception hosted at Taj Palace, New Delhi by the High Commissioner of Maldives to India Ibrahim Shaheeb, in honor of FM Shahid.
Highlighting that countries represented at the reception were valuable bilateral and multilateral partners to the Maldives, FM Shahid stated that the bilateral relationship between countries is the cornerstone of all international relations.
This being said, FM Shahid stated that Envoys have a heavy responsibility to strengthen and sustain the relationship as accredited Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
Further, he noted that people-to-people connections are vital to bridge the gap and nurture closer cooperation between the countries, FM Shahid also shed light on the upcoming candidatures of Maldives for the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
As such, FM Shahid stated that Maldives relies on the power of diplomacy and international cooperation based on the three pillars of its foreign policy, including the promotion and protection of human rights, consolidating democracy and championing climate diplomacy.
The Maldivian foreign minister added that the archipelago nation intends to expressively contribute towards maintaining international peace and security at the Security Council.
He stated that Maldives aims to urge enhanced coordination and coherence across the UN system to assist all countries achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and all targets at the ECOSOC.
High Commissioners and Ambassadors from Algeria, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Finland, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Kenya, Laos, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Oman, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Guinea, Republic of Sudan, Rwanda, Senegal Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine and Zimbabwe attended the reception.
The Maldivian foreign minister’s visit to India is in keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between the two neighboring countries.
The visit is expected to mirror the enhancing of bilateral ties between the two countries with the signing on Tuesday of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) exchanged in the field of socioeconomic cooperation.
Bilateral Secretary Dr. Hala Hameed, Joint Secretary Abdul Waris Saeed and senior officials at the foreign ministry are accompanying the foreign minister during the visit.
