President Mohamed Nasheed has said through time the Maldives and Bangladesh had very intricate, close and friendly relations, and Bangladesh had “never been a foreign country to Maldivians”.

He made the remarks, speaking at the dinner hosted by the High Commissioner of Bangladesh in the Maldives to mark the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh.

Speaking on the historic relationship that exist between both countries, the President said the most of the Maldives’ trade in its middle history was with Bangladesh. He said Maldivian traders imported the bulk of their good from Bengali ports.

In his remarks at the last evening’s function held at Dharubaaruge, President Nasheed highlighted the importance of regional co-operation. He said spoke on the importance of having mutually beneficial arrangements where the all the countries of South Asia could benefit from the developmental efforts of other countries in the region.

The President said, the up coming SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit would be an opportunity to bring more alignment to the developmental efforts of all the countries in the region.

At the function, the President conveyed the greetings of the Independence and National Day of Bangladesh to the Prime Minister, government and the people of Bangladesh.