Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid declared Wednesday that there was a "profound dependency" between Maldives and the Indian Ocean.

“There is a profound dependency, a mutual dependency, between Indian Ocean and the Maldives", he said at the Round Table held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington DC.

Shahid stated that a stronger partnership between Maldives and the US was crucial to promote maritime security. The foreign minister added that such ties with the US would also strengthen the security of the South Asia region, and make the archipelago stronger in the areas of regional and global politics.

Shahid is currently on a four-day official visit to the US, where he met with the CSIS, United States Department of Treasury and the USAID. He is also scheduled to address the United Nations' Security Council on the issue of climate change and security.

The foreign minister is accompanied on his trip by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN and Ambassador to the United States, Ali Naseer Mohamed, and officials of the Maldives Mission in New York.