H.E Vice President Faisal Naseem has paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. H.E Sheikh Hasina, as part of his ongoing official visit to the country. The call was held this afternoon at the Prime Minister’s Residence, Gonobhaban.
The Vice President and Prime Minister expressed their delight at the close diplomatic ties between the Maldives and Bangladesh for several decades. The Vice President also extended his felicitations to the Prime Minister on the happy occasion of the 50th anniversary of independence and the centennial birth anniversary of the founding leader of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, celebrated this year. The two leaders conversed on agreement exchanges and other avenues to improve bilateral relations and further boost the close friendship between the two nations.
Prior to his meeting with the Prime Minister, Vice President Faisal Naseem visited the National Institute of Advanced Nursing Education & Research (NIANER). Addressing the Bangladeshi delegation at the event, the Vice President stated that he was deeply honoured for the warm welcome to the nation. He noted that the Maldives and Bangladesh have enjoyed close ties for many years and share common values, attitudes and interests. He spoke further on the priority placed by H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on youth development and decentralized development of wellness and healthcare services.
Next, the Vice President met with the Bangladeshi Minister of Health and Family Welfare, H.E Zahid Maleque. The Vice President and Minister expressed their eagerness to collaborate further in heathcare sector development, including technical and vocational training as well as higher education opportunities to specialize in different areas of healthcare. They also discussed collaboration for bilateral healthcare development, such as work exchanges for skills development and visits to the Maldives by teams of specialised Bangladeshi doctors and healthcare experts. They discussed bringing Maldivian healthcare employees to Bangladesh as temporary trainees to help them enhance their skills and expand their ideas, knowledge and capacity.
The Bangladeshi Health Minister praised the Maldives for the highly-successful Covid-19 vaccination drive, which provided both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, completely free, to all residents, regardless of their native nation. The Vice President in turn praised the Prime Minister of Bangladesh for the country's excellent response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Vice President is accompanied on his current official visit to Bangladesh by a delegation of cabinet ministers and high-ranking officials from the President's Office and the government.
