The Maldives and Azerbaijan have conducted their first round of bilateral consultations, focusing on strengthening ties in investment, education, culture, tourism, and other areas of mutual interest.
The consultations held at the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs were led by Foreign Secretary of the Maldives, Fathmath Inaya, and Elnur Mammadov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
During the meeting, the two delegations reviewed the cooperation programme and progress on key agreements reached between the Maldives and Azerbaijan. Recalling the discussions held between President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and President Ilham Aliyev on the sidelines of COP29 in Baku last November, the bilateral consultations were focused on enhancing cooperation in the fields of investment promotion, education, culture, tourism, connectivity, fostering people-to-people exchanges, multilateral cooperation, as well as other important issues of mutual interest.
During the deliberations, Foreign Secretary Inaya and Deputy Minister Mammadov reiterated their commitment to maintaining close engagement to cooperate on issues of mutual interest and to further strengthening the close ties of friendship between the two countries.
Deputy Foreign Minister Mammadov leading a high-level delegation to the Maldives, comprising representatives from government agencies including the Export and Investment Promotion Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (AZPROMO) and the private sector. During their visit, the delegation will engage with key stakeholders of the government and explore investment opportunities in the Maldives.