Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid announced during a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Wednesday that the country intends to open a resident embassy in Washington, D.C.
After arriving in D.C. on Tuesday, Shahid spoke at the CSIS on the invitation of Richard Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in U.S. India Policy Studies and CSIS India Chair.
The minister later shared a message on Twitter, thanking Rossow for the invitation to give a speech at the CSIS. “A stronger, prosperous, democratic, and a politically stable Maldives is necessary for the security of the Indian Ocean. And continuous stability in the Indian Ocean is fundamental for the security of the Maldives,” Shahid tweeted.
Thank @RichardRossow for the invitation to speak @CSIS.
“A stronger, prosperous, democratic, and a politically stable Maldives is necessary for the security of the Indian Ocean. And continuous stability in the Indian Ocean is fundamental for the security of the Maldives.” pic.twitter.com/ECW5exRbaj— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) January 22, 2019
“Had a fruitful discussion @USTreasury and explored areas of collaboration between the two countries in strengthening the management of Maldives financial sector,” he added in another tweet.
At the Round Table discussion held in Washington, D.C, Minister Shahid said that there’s a “profound dependency, a mutual dependency between the Indian Ocean and the Maldives”.
A stronger partnership between the U.S. and Maldives is “curial for promoting maritime security in the region,” according to Shahid, who added that it is vital to make Maldives stronger in the regional and global politics.
During his two-day official visit to Washington, D.C., Minister Shahid met several senior officials at the U.S. Department of Treasury and the USAID.
Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ali Naseer Mohamed, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the U.N. and Ambassador to the United States, and officials of the Maldives Mission in New York accompanied the minister during his official trip to D.C.