The Minister of Foreign Affairs Svetlan Stoev and his Maldivian counterpart Abdullah Shahid discussed the possibilities for deepening the cooperation between the two countries during the first visit of the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Maldives to Bulgaria. Among the topics of conversation was the chairmanship of Minister Shahid at the 76th session of the UN General Assembly for one year from September 2021, called the “Presidency of Hope”.
During the plenary talks held on the Bulgaria side by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Zaritsa Dinkova, Bulgaria’s full support was expressed for the priorities stated by Minister Shahid in his capacity as Chairman of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly – managing the Covid-19 crisis, providing vaccines, gender equality and combating climate change.
“I congratulate you on your election as President of the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly. This is an assessment of your great merits and professional experience”, Zaritsa Dinkova said, and assured him that he can count on the assistance of our country in realizing his priorities as chairman.
During the talks, the traditionally good relations between Bulgaria and the Maldives were emphasized, and the prospects for strengthening the relations between the EU and the Maldives were discussed in the context of the forthcoming negotiations on the EU-Maldives Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and the future EU cooperation strategy in India and the Pacific region.
In the context of bilateral relations, the Bulgarian side stressed the need to intensify bilateral political dialogue, create conditions to stimulate exchanges in the field of economy, tourism, and education, as well as the development of cooperation within international formats.
Delegations discussed the possibility of appointing honorary consuls of the two countries to facilitate bilateral contacts, including tourist travel. In recent years, more and more Bulgarian citizens visit the Maldives. In 2019, they were over 6,000, and for the period from November 2020 to May 2021 – about 10,000. Bulgaria also offers excellent conditions for Maldivian tourists, whereas a key factor in increasing the tourist flow is the improvement of transport, connectivity by opening a regular air line between the two countries.
Minister Shahid stressed that his country is also interested in deepening cooperation in the field of education, expressing hope that students from his country will study in Bulgaria. He shared his admiration for the ancient culture, of which Bulgaria is the successor, as well as for the tolerance of the Bulgarian people, which he was convinced of during his visit.
