Doha, Qatar – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has concluded his official visit to Qatar following the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During the trip, President Solih met the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, in which the President and the Amir discussed ways of strengthening the bilateral bond between the two countries.
The two leaders also spoke about increasing people-to-people contact and business interactions between the Maldives and Qatar, to facilitate good bilateral relations and increase mutual investment opportunities. To further enhance bilateral relations the President relayed his intention to appoint a non-resident Maldivian Ambassador to Qatar.
President Solih had also expressed his desire to continue to work together with Qatar on issues of global importance, such as climate change, sustainable development and the promotion and protection of human rights.
Maldives reinstated full diplomatic relations with Qatar on 6 January 2021 after Maldives severed ties between the two countries in June 2017 during former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s presidency. Reinstating diplomatic relations between Qatar and Iran was one of the electoral pledges of the current President Solih.
Diplomatic relations were severed by the former government when Maldives joined Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt as the countries imposed an embargo against Qatar in 2017, accusing the country of supporting terrorism.
