Vice President Faisal Naseem has stated South Korea had been an international ally and an important development partner to the Maldives. He made the statement in his meeting with the Ambassador of South Korea to the Maldives Jeon Woonjin at the President's Office.
At the meeting, Vice President Faisal Naseem noted that both countries are now approaching 55 years of friendly relations between the two nations. He thanked South Korea for their support towards the Maldives' candidature during the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elections held in June.
Vice President Faisal Naseem noted that South Korea had contributed greatly to individual public empowerment in the Maldives, providing a variety of educational and higher education aid as well as training and development opportunities. They discussed further avenues of cooperation between the two nations, focusing on the tourism, education, and higher education sectors. The vice president and ambassador both affirmed that the two countries look forward to more joint cooperation in the international arena, especially towards the climate emergency.
Ambassador Woonjin said that as island nations, South Korea and the Maldives have a mutual interest in negating the adverse effects of climate change, such as the sea-level rise and air pollution.
Concluding the meeting, both parties expressed their keenness to continue to cooperate on the global stage.