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President Solih, Ireland's Prime Minister discuss pandemic response

Ahmed Aiham
04 June 2020, MVT 10:26
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih pictured on a phone call. PHOTO: PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
Ahmed Aiham
04 June 2020, MVT 10:26

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih placed an official phone call to Ireland's Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar on Wednesday afternoon, during which both parties discussed matters related to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the President's Office, both leaders shared information on the present status of their countries, including challenges that surfaced over the outbreak, and various measures being enacted by their administrations in response.

During the call, President Solih noted the Maldives' efforts to restart economic activity, reopen borders, revive the tourism industry and rebuild without compromising the country’s continued success against COVID-19.

Emphasizing on the importance of international support for Maldives' recovery, President Solih highlighted the many challenges to vulnerable Small Island Developing States (SIDS). He said that debt-forgiveness could become an impactful measure to alleviate government burdens.

The President and Taoiseach also discussed long-term relations, deliberating on further strengthening existing bilateral ties through international cooperation on matters of mutual importance, such as climate change, counter-terrorism and trade.

The leaders concluded the call by wishing each other success in the continued fight against COVID-19, and expressing confidence that strong ties and productive cooperation would continue in the long-term, between the two nations.

The two countries established formal diplomatic ties roughly 21 years ago.

Ireland has reported 25,111 confirmed cases of COVID-19, along with 1,659 deaths and a recovery rate of 91 percent.

With the majority of cases originating from the densely populated capital city of Male', the total number of positive cases found in Maldives currently stands at 1,850 while the number of recoveries is 644. The country mourns 7 fatalities.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified the spread of COVID-19 as a global pandemic on March 12. The new strain of novel coronavirus has infected over 6.5 million people across the planet and claimed over 388,000 lives. However, to date, over 3.1 million people have recovered from the infection.

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