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The Maldives and Sri Lanka have decided to collaborate in various fields, including the sharing of expertise in the rule of law and democratic governance, Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed said in Colombo on Friday.
He told the ‘Sunday Island’ that a wide range of issues figured during bilateral talks between President Mohammed Nasheed and Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama.
Sri Lankan assistance, Shaheed said was sought for the development of the structures and institutions of democracy in the Maldives and also to conduct an archipelago survey of his country. This would be the first to be done after 1922, which was also led by an archaeologist from Ceylon, as the country was then known.
‘The establishment of a good civil service and development of human resources, information technology education and archaeology, were among the other fields in which Sri Lankan expertise was requested.’
Nasheed would also hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa, Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake, several ministers and the business community, he said.
The visiting Maldivian delegation includes President Nasheed’s special envoy Ibrahim Hussein Zaki, Finance Minister Ali Hashim, Health Minister Aminath Jameel, Education Minister Musthafa Lutfi, Islamic Affairs Minister Abdul Majeed Abdul Bari, Economic Development and Trade Minister Mohammed Rasheed, Housing, Transport and Environment Minister Mohammed Aslam and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahamed Naseem.
