Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and First Lady Romah Mansor arrived in the Maldives on an official visit on Tuesday.
According to the President’s Office, the Malaysian First Couple are in the Maldives from 19th to 20th December, on the invitation of President Abdulla Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim.
Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim and Home Minister Azleen Ahmed welcomed them at the Velana International Airport.
Both parties are to hold bilateral deliberations on Wednesday, ‘to enhance the existing ties and development partnership’ between the two countries, and are expected to sign a number of memorandums of understandings as well.
2017 marks the 49th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties with Malaysia, and formal bilateral relations were established in 1968. This is the first time a Malaysian leader is visiting the country in 33 years, with the last visit by former PM Mahathir Mohamed in 1984.
Prior to arriving in the Maldives on Tuesday, the Malaysian PM and First Lady were in Sri Lanka, where PM Najib held a number of meetings, including with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.
President Yameen and the First Lady were on an official trip in Malaysia in December 2016, where both parties ‘rejoiced the close bonds of the two nations’.
