The new Pakistani High Commissioner accredited to the Maldives, His Excellency Syed Sail Abbas presented his letter of credence to President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom this morning.
At the ceremony held at the President’s Office to present the credentials, President Yameen congratulated High Commissioner Abbas on the commencement of his term. Following the ceremony, the President and the High Commissioner discussed ways to further enhance existing close friendly relations between the Maldives and Pakistan, and explored new avenues for cooperation, including healthcare, sports, agriculture, construction, and commerce and trade.
Recalling the historic visit of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to India to attend the oath-taking of the new Indian Prime Minister, President Yameen highlighted the importance of Pakistan and India taking the leadership in forging greater regional cooperation among the eight-members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). He noted the importance of marginalizing bilateral disputes from the SAARC agenda, in presenting the Association as a strong regional bloc. On this point, the President elaborated on the need to encourage bilateral and trilateral pacts within SAARC, which would complement the existing SAFTA arrangements, to ensure that the volume of trade within the region will also benefit smaller member states.
President Yameen said that he is keenly looking forward to his upcoming State Visit to Pakistan, including opportunities to meet with the Pakistani President Manmoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
High Commissioner Syed Sail Abbas assured the President of his firm commitment to strengthen bilateral ties during his tenure as the resident Pakistani High Commissioner to the Maldives, and proposed further initiatives to improve export-import collaboration between private sectors of both countries. He expressed his confidence that the upcoming presidential visit to Pakistan would pave the way for further enhancement of ties and socioeconomic collaboration in new fields.
The new Pakistani High Commissioner emphasized the important role of existing Pakistani investments in the Maldives, including the contribution of Habib Bank Limited. He concurred with the President’s view that trade and commerce encompassed important avenues for future collaboration. On the topic of SAARC, High Commissioner Abbas highlighted the high priority that Pakistan continued to attach to strengthen regional ties and noted that a stronger SAARC is the way forward in enhancing peace, progress, and prosperity in the region.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Dunya Maumoon, Minister at the President’s Office, Hon. Mohamed Hussain Shareef and Mr. Zafar Anjum Iqbal, Head of Chancery at the High Commission of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Male’.
