Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan Hayashi Yoshimasa has departed after concluding his two-day official visit to the Maldives.
Minister Hayashi paid an official visit to the Maldives from July 29-30 on the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid. Minister Hayashi was accompanied by a high-level delegation from Japan.
During the visit, Minister Hayashi and Minister Shahid held bilateral discussions on a range of issues in the bilateral and multilateral spheres, including those related to the Indo-Pacific region. The also agreed to continue to work closely together to uphold and strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law, and to address shared interests, in further deepening the bilateral ties between the two countries.
Following the meeting, Minister Shahid and Minister Hayashi witnessed the exchange of Note between the government of the Maldives and the government of Japan for the exemption of visa for diplomatic and official passports. They also witnessed the Exchange of Notes to provide a grant aid of USD1.1 million to the Maldives for the continuation of scholarship opportunities to be offered by the Government of Japan for the fiscal year 2023, under the Japanese Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS).
Minister Hayashi and Minister Shahid have reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance the bilateral partnership between the Maldives and Japan, in various fields including economic and development cooperation as well as cooperation in the multilateral fora.