H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and First Lady Fazna Ahmed along with the Maldivian delegation have attended a State Luncheon hosted in their honour by the President of Singapore, H.E Halima Yacob.
While addressing the gathering at the luncheon, President shed light on the fact that for decades, Maldivians frequently travel to Singapore for education, healthcare, and commercial purposes. He also stated that Singapore is one of the largest trading partners and our gateway to the rest of the world, making Singapore a dear friend and an important ally to the Maldives.
He further emphasized on the many common challenges faced by Singapore and the Maldives and remarked on facilitating cooperation on a range of issues including trade, commerce, security cooperation for the sustained peace and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region, combating terrorism, fighting climate change and championing the cause of small islands.
Moreover, President Solih stated that despite the size of Maldives, we too are determined to find our honourable place in history and highlighted that this is the reason people voted for his government back in September 2018.
The President stated that the governments’ promise to provide Maldivians with better opportunities in life will consolidate our place in history, and emphasized that the Maldives will need all the assistance we can get from our developmental partners to realize our development goals. The President also stated that he is optimistic that the warm ties of friendship that have existed between our two countries will continue to grow.
Before concluding, President Solih also extended an open invitation to the President of Singapore to undertake a State Visit to the Maldives at a mutually agreeable date.
