Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid has concluded his official visit to Kuwait.
The purpose of the visit was to reaffirm the commitment of the Maldives to foster the existing close relationship between Maldives and Kuwait, and discuss and explore additional areas for cooperation. During the visit, Minister Shahid called on the Prime Minister of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah and delivered a letter from the President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.
Minister Shahid also met with his counterpart, Foreign Minister and Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs of Kuwait, Dr. Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah; Minister of Commerce and Industry of Kuwait Dr. Abdullah Issa Al-Salman and the Minister of Finance and Minister of State for Economic and Investment Affairs of Kuwait Khalifa Musaed Hamada. At the meetings, Minister Shahid briefed the Kuwaiti officials on the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Maldives, and the way forward for the Maldives, going ahead, directed by the Maldives’ National Resilience and Recovery 2020-2022 plan. Ongoing development cooperation projects, and future prospects for collaboration and exchange between the Maldives and Kuwait were also discussed during the meetings.
During the visit, Minister Shahid signed two Memorandums of Understandings on behalf of the Government of Maldives. The two agreements concluded were a ‘Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kuwait’, and a ‘Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Maldives and the Government of Kuwait in the Field of Tourism’.
Maldives and Kuwait have enjoyed a close partnership since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries on December 1, 1977. Kuwait has been an invaluable development partner of the Maldives, and has provided generous support and assistance to the Maldives over the years, most notably through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.