Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will undertake a three-day state visit to Pakistan from Oct 20-22 at the invitation of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the Foreign Office (FO) said on Sunday.
President Muizzu will be accompanied by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed and a “high-level delegation comprising cabinet ministers and senior officials”, according to a statement issued by the FO.
During the visit, the Maldivian president will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, who will host a state banquet in his honour, the statement said.
He will also hold “restricted and delegation-level” talks with PM Shehbaz, it added, noting that in these talks, the two leaders “will review the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and explore avenues for further strengthening cooperation in trade, investment, health, education, tourism, agriculture, defence, maritime security, climate change and people-to-people exchanges”.
They will also exchange views on regional and international developments of mutual interest, the FO added.
A Pakistan-Maldives Business Forum will also be held during the visit to promote interaction between the two countries’ business communities and explore opportunities for trade and investment, according to the FO.
“A number of agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering diverse areas of bilateral cooperation are expected to be signed during the visit,” the statement added.
The FO highlighted that the visit marks the first by a Maldivian president to Pakistan in 11 years. It will take place as the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1966.
“Pakistan and Maldives enjoy warm and fraternal relations rooted in shared faith, mutual respect, longstanding goodwill and close cooperation at regional and international forums,” the statement said.
The forthcoming visit reflected the “shared commitment of both countries to further strengthening their bilateral partnership and opening new avenues of mutually beneficial cooperation”, it added.
In 2015, former Maldivian president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom undertook a two-day state visit to Pakistan on May 6-7 at the invitation of then-premier Nawaz Sharif. He was scheduled to visit earlier that year, but the trip did not materialise.