Foreign minister Abdulla Shahid has met with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
During the meeting, Blinken expressed his support for deepening bilateral relations and noted that Maldives remains a leader in the region on promoting and strengthening democracy.
“Maldives is a critical partner for the United States in the Indo-Pacific. Together, we stand for and are working to advance a free and open and secure Indo-Pacific,” he stated.
Blinken reiterated their commitment to economic growth, adapting to a changing climate, defense cooperation, free and fair elections and open and free media in Maldives.
During the meeting, Shahid requested for increased higher education opportunities for Maldivians to study at American universities and emphasized the importance of waiving visas for Maldivians traveling to the US.
Blinken acknowledged the importance of enhancing such contact and said the US would explore possibilities to streamline visa procedures for Maldivian nationals.
“We are working day-in, day-out but also today to continue to deepen and expand our ties."
"One area that we’ll be talking about is doing that in higher education – something that we very much value and I know you do as well, because that really gives us an opportunity to extend our partnerships through the generations,” he said.
The meeting took place at a crucial juncture as the Maldives prepared to open its embassy in Washington.
Maldives and the US decided to open embassies in 2020 during a visit to Male’ by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Maldives and the US established diplomatic ties in 1966. The Maldives is opening its embassy in the US for the second time.
The first embassy opened in 2007 but was closed a year later due to financial difficulties.
