High Commissioner of Maldives to Sri Lanka, H.E Masood Imad met with the Secretary, Ministry of Defence Air Vice Marshal (Retired) Sampath Thuyacontha. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Defence complex, Jayawardenapura Kotte.
High Commissioner Masood congratulated the AVM (Retd) Thuyacontha on being appointed as the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence. High Commissioner Masood highlighted the invaluable assistance and strong support rendered to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) by the armed forces of Sri Lanka. H.E Masood Imad reiterated Maldives’ commitment to collaborate with Sri Lanka to address shared threat and challenges, especially in the maritime domain.
High Commissioner Masood and Defence Secretary discussed the enduring and close bilateral and people to people relations between the Maldives and Sri Lanka. They noted the mutually beneficial economic contributions of the Maldivian community in Sri Lanka and Sri Lankan community in the Maldives. High Commissioner Masood highlighted that unfortunately, the number of Maldivians residing in Sri Lanka has gone down significantly, one key factor being the challenges faced in obtaining residence visas. Defence Secretary assured that he will look into the matter, as having more Maldivians reside in Sri Lanka is a win-win situation for both countries.
Defence Secretary noted the fraternal relation between the armed forces of both Sri Lanka and Maldives. He also highlighted the complexity of the current strategic environment and stressed the importance of working together towards regional peace and stability. Secretary Defence assured that Sri Lanka will continue to provide the necessary support and assistance to the MNDF.
The Defence Advisor of Maldives to Sri Lanka, Colonel Hassan Amir conveyed felicitation to the Defence Secretary on behalf of the Honorable Minister of Defence, Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, the Chief of Defence Force of MNDF and senior officials. Colonel Amir stated that the defence cooperation relationship between Maldives and Sri Lanka has significantly increased, and highlighted recent collaborations such as EX DOSTI, EX BLUE WHALE, the EOD training and the training of MNDF Special Forces. Colonel Amir also stated that MNDF is grateful for the training assistance from Sri Lanka Armed Forces, and MNDF would be keen to explore avenues to further enhance and strengthen the defence cooperation relationship.
