Special Envoy of the President, Ibrahim Hussain Zaki, has today departed Malé on a tour to Sweden, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands.

The main aim of the visit is to hand letters from President Nasheed to the top government officials of these countries.

Mr Zaki will also hold discussions on ways of strengthening the bilateral ties that exist between the Maldives and the respective countries.

Other matters that Mr Zaki will discuss include seeking support for the policies that the Maldives will propose in the Copenhagen Summit to be held later this year and on seeking grant assistance that the Maldives requires to prepare itself for graduation from the list of the Least Developed Countries.

After concluding his tour, Mr Zaki will visit the UK to meet with the senior officials of the International Centre for Transitional Justice.

During his visit, the Special Envoy of the President is accompanied by Mr Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, who is to be appointed as the Maldives Permanent Representative to the United Nations.