President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed along with the Maldivian delegation have attended a State Luncheon hosted in their honour by President of Singapore Halima Yacob.
While addressing the gathering at the luncheon, President Solih shed light on the fact that for decades, Maldivians frequently travel to Singapore for education, healthcare, and commercial purposes. The president also stated Singapore is one of the largest trading partners and gateway of Maldives to the rest of the world, making Singapore a dear friend and an important ally. He further emphasised on the many common challenges faced by Singapore and Maldives and remarked on facilitating cooperation on a range of issues including trade, commerce, security cooperation for the sustained peace and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region, combating terrorism, fighting climate change and championing the cause of small islands.
Moreover, President Solih stated despite the size, Maldives is also determined to find an honourable place in history and highlighted that as the reason people voted for his administration in September 2018. The president stated the pledges of his administration to provide Maldivians with better opportunities in life will consolidate a place in history, and emphasised Maldives will need all the assistance from all developmental partners to realise the development goals. He also stated that he is optimistic that the warm ties of friendship that have existed between the two countries will continue to grow.
Before concluding, President Solih also extended an open invitation to the President of Singapore to undertake a state visit to the Maldives at a mutually agreeable date.
After the State Luncheon, the president visited Pulau Semakau landfill to better understand Singapore's experiences regarding waste management and gain knowledge from their expertise. The landfill is located offshore, south of the Singaporean mainland, and is the only one of its kind in the country.