The Maldives and the European Union (EU) have held the Fifth Annual Policy Dialogue.
The Policy dialogue is held as an annual feature to strengthen the cooperation and engagement between the Maldives and the EU on various sectors. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s dialogue was held virtually.
The discussions in the dialogue covered a wide array of thematic areas, including democracy and governance, strengthening of the justice sector, promotion and protection of human rights, advancing the rights of vulnerable groups, security cooperation, cooperation in the fisheries sector, economic sector, trade, investment and economic policy, financial policy, climate change and environment.
During the dialogue, the Maldives shared its action plan on a resilient post COVID-19 recovery, formulated to ensure sustainability and achieving meaningful socio-economic development. The Maldives also conveyed gratitude to the EU for the continued assistance towards socio-economic development of the country and particularly noted the support extended for the Government’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Maldives further reaffirmed its strong commitment to consolidate democracy, ensure good governance, and promote respect for human rights, including gender equality. The EU provided an update on the EUR 1 million technical assistance project that will further enhance the independence, accountability and transparency of the judiciary, prevent and fight against corruption, enhance good governance and strengthen the justice professional associations, civil society and media. Both the Maldives and the EU agreed to explore additional opportunities to collaborate on judicial reform and the fight against corruption. This includes opportunities to strengthen the judicial system and the rule of law in the Maldives, including respect for civil and political rights.
During the dialogue, the Maldives also reaffirmed its commitment to strengthen business ties and explore additional investment opportunities for European businesses in the Maldives and to continue dialogue through the existing Business Roundtable Initiative. The EU member states noted the fruitful discussions held during the first business roundtable in October 2019.
The EU member states also took note of the request by Maldives to explore the means of facilitating the Schengen Visa process in the Maldives. The Maldives expressed gratitude to the governments of Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria in particular for starting to provide visa facilitation services in the Maldives.
The Maldives delegation was led by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid. The Maldives delegation comprised of several cabinet ministers and senior officials of government institutions.
The delegation comprising of European Heads of Mission were led by EU Ambassador to the Maldives, Denis Chaibi. The EU delegation consisted of Heads of Mission from France, Italy, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Ireland, Hungary, Netherlands, Belgium, Greece, Austria, Poland, Slovakia, Portugal, Denmark, and Sweden.