Prime Minister of Sri lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe concluded his official visit to Maldives early Wednesday and departed to Sri Lanka.
The prime minister was seen off at Velana International Airport by Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
This was PM Wickremesinghe's first visit to the Maldives. The PM and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih presided over official talks to discuss areas to further existing relations between the two nations, including health, youth development, education, cultural cooperation, regional governance and security cooperation. They also spoke of the need for more engagement within the international fora to overcome challenges such as climate change, regional security, trade and maritime issues.
The governments of Sri Lanka and Maldives inked multiple agreements during the prime minister's visit, including the Agreement on Facilitation of Visa Arrangements, MoU on Cooperation in the Area of Social Protection, MoU on Higher Education, and MoU on Vocational Training and Youth Development.
The prime minister then delivered an official address at the Maldivian parliament. He is the third foreign leader to be accorded the privilege. The first head of state and government to address the Maldivian parliament was India's then-PM Manmohan Singh in 2011, followed by incumbent Indian PM Narendra Modi last June.
PM Wickremesinghe was also the chair of the fourth iteration of Indian Ocean Conference (IOC) 2019, held September 3-4 at Paradise Island Resort.
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