Political

Remain cautious of passports while traveling to Europe: Shian

Ambassador of Maldives to the United Kingdom and the European Union Ahmed Shian has called on all Maldivians to remain cautious about passports while traveling to European countries.

Speaking on "Khaarijee Siyaasathu", a progarmme aired on PSM News, Ambassador Shiaan said that the relations between EU and Maldives has been progressing since President Yameen assumed office in 2013.

Speaking about current relations between Maldives and the European Union, Ambassador Shian said, both parties are enjoying a steadfast and budding relationship. Shian cited various programmes that have been collaborative efforts of EU in the Maldives in fields such as diplomacy, business and healthcare in the past four years.

Shedding light on preparations for the ITB fair this year, Ambassador Shian said that a lot of Maldivian entrepreneurs travel to the fair and this year the number has reached 350. Ambassador Shian highlighted that cases related to lost passports have been reported every year. On this note, Ambassador Shian called on all Maldivians to remain cautious of their passport while traveling to the European countries.

Shian said that the relations between EU and Maldives have seen tremendous improvement. He revealed that policy dialogues, conducted between the Maldives and the EU on an annual basis testify to the strong and steadfast relationship the parties share. Ambassador Shian refuted all claims by local media about reportedly weakened relations between Maldives and the EU. He called on all media to refrain from spreading such baseless rumors.

Ambassador Shian said that only a few member countries of the European Union have released statements about the current political situation in Maldives, which shows the amount of trust most EU member countries have on the administration of President Yameen. Ambassador Shian concluded by stating that the delegation which visited Maldives this year had extensive and fruitful discussions to further enhance the existing ties between EU and Maldives.