Maldives and Sri Lanka are scheduled to sign several agreements during Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s visit to Maldives, to begin on Monday.

Wickremesinghe’s scheduled arrival is on 2 September, and his visit comes upon the official invitation of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to chair the Indian Ocean Conference 2019, to be held at Paradise Island Resort from 3 to 4 September.

The Sri Lankan PM is to be accompanied by spouse Maithree Wickremesinghe along with a high-level delegation which includes four cabinet ministers.

International media reports that four agreements are to be signed, out of which one is an agreement on the facilitation of visa arrangements between both countries, which has been approved by the cabinet.

During PM Wickremesinghe’s visit, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is also to be signed on sectors such as higher education, water supply as well as vocational training and youth development.

It has also been reported that Maldives and Sri Lanka will sign an MoU on safeguarding the promotion of right of elderly, children, women and disabled persons.

While said agreements are expected to enhance the long-standing ties and mutual cooperation between the two countries, PM Wickremesinghe has also been given the honor to address the Maldives Parliament, at 09:30am on Tuesday.

During the two-day official trip, both leaders are expected to explore new areas of cooperation including on global matters of mutual concern alongside discussing regional and global challenges surfacing for the Indian Ocean region.