The High Commissioner of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Republic of Maldives, H.E Vice Admiral Ather Mukhtar (Retd), paid a courtesy call on H.E Vice President Faisal Naseem, this morning at the President’s Office. The Vice President congratulated the High Commissioner on his appointment and discussed progressing the good relations between the Maldives and Pakistan, which have long endured on the basis of mutual respect and cultural similarities.
The Vice President and High Commissioner discussed increasing trade linkages and people to people connectivity between the citizens of both countries. They also spoke regarding taking forward bilateral cooperation on a range of fields from education to health to sport, and on exploring potential new avenues for collaboration.
The High Commissioner relayed good wishes on behalf of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, H.E Imran Khan, who had recently spoken over the telephone with H.E President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, to discuss bilateral issues and their countries’ respective experiences relevant to Covid-19. The Vice President praised Pakistan’s Government for their effective handling of the pandemic and also thanked them for their efforts to attend to the welfare of the many Maldivian students residing in Pakistan, during these difficult times. The High Commissioner in turn expressed his sincere hope that both countries can soon fully recover from the impacts of the disease, and that the Maldives’ economically important tourism industry can return to full strength.
Ending the call, the Vice President expressed that he was keen to work with the new High Commissioner to further the partnership between the two countries, sentiments which were reciprocated by the High Commissioner.
