President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has arrived in the Maldives this morning after concluding the trip to New York City, United States, to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The President was accompanied on this trip by First Lady Fazna Ahmed and a high-level Maldivian delegation.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has concluded his official trip to New York City to attend the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The President was joined by First Lady Fazna Ahmed and a high-level Maldivian delegation.

In a historic moment for the Maldives, President Solih delivered his UNGA address in Dhivehi. President Solih delivered his remarks on the third speaking slot on the first day of the high-level General Debate on September 21, 2021, a privilege rarely granted to smaller states. In his address, the President recalled how the UN had initially debated the merits of admitting a small island state like the Maldives, and stated that the fact that he could address the President of the General Assembly (PGA), Abdullah Shahid, in their mother tongue validated Maldives' progress in expanding global recognition.

In his speech, President Solih also addressed the Covid-19 pandemic, stating that it had proven, in stark terms, how interconnected we are in today's world and emphasized the importance of collaboration. He stated that a concerted effort is required to ensure that such a disaster does not occur again. As a country that is extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change, President Solih has made critical statements outlining the crisis and emphasizing how the Maldives will not sit back and wait. He cited the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, noting how the climate emergency would be catastrophic to humanity, and warned that bigger nations would soon catch up with the state of "environmental ruin" that small countries are in if current trends continue. In his speech, the President also underscored the growing threat of terrorism and reaffirmed his commitment to working with the international community to combat its threats. President Solih also reaffirmed the Maldives' position on the Palestine issue, advocating that Palestine should be recognized as a sovereign state.

President Solih participated in a number of events on the sidelines of the GA during his visit. The President attended the Climate Moment, a meeting convened by the United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG), His Excellency Antonio Guterres, and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, The Right Honourable Boris Johnson, the day before delivering his address at the General Debate. President Solih was among a select group of state leaders invited, and in his remarks at the event, he urged world leaders to ensure that multilateral banks and international financial institutions are well-positioned to provide low-cost capital for smaller nations to implement climate change policies.

Other high-level events attended by the President on the margins of the 76th UNGA include the panel on Transformative Action for Nature and People, which met to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and the online session of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Leaders' Summit 2021.

President Solih also held official meetings with a number of world leaders at the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York City. President Solih met with the President of the Portuguese Republic His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of the Swiss Confederation, His Excellency Guy Parmelin, the President of the Republic of Cabo Verde His Excellency Jorge Carlos Fonseca, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Irfan Ali, the Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina, the President of the Republic of Palau His Excellency Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. and the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah.

 President Solih also met with UN Secretary-General Gutteres and PGA Shahid. The President congratulated PGA Shahid on his election and wished him success in achieving the PGA's Five Rays of Hope (list). The President invited PGA Shahid to visit Maldives in his capacity as PGA and expressed gratitude for his success in implementing foreign policy thus far.

During the visit, First Lady Fazna also had a number of important engagements. She took part in some of the side events at the United Nations General Assembly's 76th session, including the youth-focused virtual event "Unlock the Future." She also met with H.E. Marco Suazo, Head of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office, Ms Lucia J. Guo, Executive Director of the Global Foundation for the Performing Arts (GFPA), and Mr Byron Zhou, pianist on the GFPA's artist roster, to discuss collaboration on music art therapy in the Maldives. The First Lady also met with Judith Batty, Interim CEO of Girl Guides USA, and Adwoa Aidoo, Director of Global Girl Scouting, Girl Guides USA. First Lady Fazna had attended the book launch ceremony for "My Travels to Africa," hosted by the First Lady of the Republic of Turkey, Her Excellency Mrs. Emine Erdogan, at the Turkish House in New York City, along with state leaders' spouses, and had visited the Carter Burden/Leonard Covello Senior Program in the city. 

The 76th Session of the UNGA was a watershed moment for the Maldives, with a Maldivian serving as President of the UNGA for the first time in our country's history. Abdullah Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs, was elected with an overwhelming majority of votes. This is also President Solih's second address to the UNGA; his first was at the 74th Session of the UNGA in 2019. The President will return to the Maldives on Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

H.E First Lady Fazna Ahmed has met with H.E Marco Suazo, Head of United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office, Ms Lucia J. Guo, Executive Director of the Global Foundation for the Performing Arts (GPFA) and Mr Byron Zhou, Pianist on the artist roster of the GFPA. The First Lady was joined at the meeting by the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to United Nations, H.E Thilmeeza Hussain.

Discussions at the meeting, held at the Permanent Mission of the Maldives in New York, were centred on collaboration on music art therapy in the Maldives. The First Lady thanked the representatives from UNITAR and GFPA for taking the time to meet her, stating that her visit to New York during UNGA has been an opportunity to explore potential windows for new mutually beneficial partnerships. Speaking as an educator, she expressed interest in the use of art and music in education, inquiring the first steps to initiate collaboration with UNITAR and GFPA to conduct training for Maldivian teachers in art therapy.

The representatives of UNITAR and GFPA highlighted the educational and healing benefits of art and music and briefed the First Lady on online courses conducted in collaboration with world-renowned institutions such as Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. They conveyed ready willingness to facilitate art and music therapy for children through train-the-trainer sessions aimed at Maldivian teachers.

The First Lady further proposed a joint collaboration between the Maldives and, UNITAR and GFPA to facilitate art and music therapy sessions targeted to children in state care. The representatives of UNITAR and GFPA agreed to hold discussions with stakeholders in the Maldives at the earliest to formulate a programme tailored for children in state care.

The meeting concluded with all parties affirming their commitment to carry forward the partnership discussed in the meeting.

H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and H.E First Lady Fazna Ahmed have attended a special dinner hosted by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations, H.E Mohan Pieris, and his spouse, Mrs. Mohan Pieris.

The dinner, held tonight at Westin Grand Central, was hosted in honour of the visit of President Solih, the President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, H.E Gotabaya Rajapaksa, and the President of this year’s General Assembly (PGA), H.E Abdulla Shahid.

From the Maldives, the dinner was attended by the Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology, H.E Aminath Shauna; Secretary, Foreign Relations, H.E Ibrahim Hood; the Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations, H.E Thilmeeza Hussain; Secretary, Presidential Secretariat and Protocol, H.E Fathimath Mohamed Solih; and the Special Envoy for Climate Change, H.E Sabra Ibrahim Noordeen.

The dinner was also joined by the Sri Lankan First Lady, H.E Ioma Rajapaksa; Minister of Foreign Relations, H.E (Prof) Gamini Lakshman Peiris, the Foreign Secretary Admiral (Prof) Jayanath Colombage, and other senior officials.

His Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has met with the Prime Minister of the State of Kuwait, His Highness Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, on the margins of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York City.

President Solih emphasised Kuwait's role as an important development partner for the Maldives over the years, particularly through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). He expressed his gratitude for the assistance provided by the Government of Kuwait, highlighting numerous priority projects funded by KFAED in the Maldives' infrastructure development and social sectors.

The Prime Minister, His Highness Al-Sabah, congratulated the Maldives on winning the UNGA 76 Presidency election. In that regard, the Prime Minister noted the urgency of combating climate change for the survival of the Maldives and the other Small Islands States. He further noted that he followed the President’s General Debate Statement closely, and expressed confidence that climate change will rank high on the General Assembly agenda during the tenure of His Excellency Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th General Assembly

The two leaders affirmed their common interest to advance tourism cooperation, people-to-people contact and business-to-business interaction between the two countries in the coming years. Discussions also focused on collaborating on international platforms such as through the United Nations to ensure peace, security and increasing resilience to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

President Solih said that he was pleased to welcome Kuwaiti visitors back to the Maldives after the Covid-19 pandemic. He assured the Prime Minister that his administration would make the process as smooth and efficient as possible, and he encouraged more Kuwaiti guests to visit the Maldives. The Maldives established diplomatic ties with Kuwait on 1 December 1977.

His Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih met with the President of the Republic of Palau, His Excellency Surangel S. Whipps, Jr., on the sidelines of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The meeting took place today at the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) in New York City.

Discussions during the meeting centred on Covid-19, environment and climate change, and tourism. President Solih inquired about the Covid-19 situation in Palau, praising the Palauan government's prompt response to the pandemic. He discussed the challenges the Maldives has experienced as a result of having to close its borders, as well as the Maldives' determination to vaccinate the entire population as soon as possible.

The Palauan President noted that Covid-19 is well under control in Palau with the closing of borders and that no one has so far been hospitalised or died of the virus. He further noted that Palau has much to learn from the Maldives on re-opening the borders and re-starting the tourism sector.

The two leaders spoke extensively about the climate crisis, which they both struggle with as Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Noting the common membership of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), President Solih and the President of Palau expressed confidence in each other to work together on international fora to ensure that mitigation policies are effective and to gain momentum. The talks then focused on ensuring sustainable ocean governance and a blue economy.

In connection to this discussion, the Palauan President invited President Solih to attend the Seventh Our Ocean Conference to be held in Palau from 16-17 February 2022. President Solih praised Palau's President for his leadership in advocating for the 1.5 ° C global warming limit, as well as being one of the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement. They committed to working together even more closely in the fight against climate change at the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

President Solih and Palauan President also agreed to improve tourism cooperation and exchange expertise in sustainable tourism practices. The meeting concluded with the two Presidents expressing hope for enhanced bilateral ties on issues of common concern in the near future and in the long term. The Maldives and Palau established diplomatic ties on October 17, 2014.