President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed departed for Pakistan this morning on a state visit scheduled to run from 20 to 22 October.

The visit is being undertaken at the invitation of Pakistan Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif.

This is the first visit by a Maldivian President to Pakistan in the last 10 years. The last state visit to the country was undertaken by President Abdulla Yameen in 2015.

During the visit, President Muizzu is scheduled to hold high-level talks with Pakistani leaders, followed by the exchange of around 12 MoU's covering areas of mutual cooperation including business and investment, health, education, climate change, tourism, civil aviation and defence.

President Muizzu is also scheduled to meet Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and hold official talks with Pakistani leaders.

A key event during the visit will be a business forum aimed at strengthening commercial ties between the Maldives and Pakistan. President Muizzu and Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed are scheduled to address the forum.

The President will also meet Maldivian families living in Pakistan to hear about their experiences.

The visit marks the first high-level engagement between the two countries in a decade and coincides with the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established on 26 July 1966.

The President and First Lady are accompanied by a delegation comprising Cabinet ministers and senior government officials.