President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has held bilateral discussions with President of Seychelles Danny Faure, as part of his ongoing state visit to Seychelles.
During the discussions, President Solih and President Faure shed light on some of the areas in which both countries cooperate and on the common challenges both countries share as island nations in the Indian Ocean.
Accordingly, the discussions highlighted the common commitment to the peace and security of the Indian Ocean Region, the need to take forward cooperation on climate change, developing the blue economy and combatting illicit activities such as maritime piracy, narcotics and human trafficking and terrorism.
In light of the manifold areas in which the two governments cooperate, both leaders expressed joy that the visit has proved successful with both governments agreeing to cooperate on a range of fields, formalised by the signing of several memoranda of understanding (MoU), which encompass several spheres, including general cooperation, blue economy, foreign ministry cooperation and sports cooperation,
President Solih noted his elation the athletes of both countries were able to participate in the recently held Indian Ocean Island Games (IOIG), which took place in Mauritius. As agreed upon by a majority vote of the IOIG governing council, the next iteration of the event will take place in Maldives in 2023. The president thanked Seychelles immensely for the support for securing the bid for Maldives.
Further, President Solih expressed that he looked forward to the participation of Seychelles in the next games and expressed gratitude in particular for the aforementioned sporting cooperation MOU, which will help build the sporting capacity of Maldives and prepare the country for the next games, which will introduce for the first time in Maldives, competitive water sports such as windsurfing and sailing.
President Faure warmly reciprocated President Solih's warm sentiments. He also expressed it was his pleasure to receive President Solih and the First Lady Fazna Ahmed in Seychelles and further noted his satisfaction that the two governments are en route to increasing cooperation in manifold spheres, thereby bolstering mutual bilateral friendship.