Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid, departed Tokyo on Monday after concluding his official visit to Japan.
A press release issued by the Foreign Ministry revealed that the minister paid a courtesy call to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Japan, as well as his counterpart, Taro Kono, during his visit to Tokyo.
According to the statement, the Foreign Ministers of the two countries have met four times within the last twelve months. During the meetings, discussions focused on ways of strengthening the historic, close and friendly ties between the Maldives and Japan, and exploring ways to further this relationship.
The meetings advanced the key priority issues in the bilateral relations between Maldives and Japan, in support of mutual efforts to further invigorate the deep-rooted ties between the two allies, the statement read.
During his visit, Minister Shahid also met with various Japanese diplomats including Yoshiaki Harada, Minister of Environment, Hiroshige Seko, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Governor of Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the President of Japan External Trade Organization.
The foreign minister was accompanied by Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel, Ambassador of Maldives to Japan Ibrahim Uvais, and officials of the foreign ministry on the new administration's first visit to East Asia.