MALE, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- The Maldives' president and government officials received U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday, and both sides discussed deepening cooperation and establishing a U.S. embassy in the country.
Pompeo paid a courtesy call to President Ibrahim Solih, during which the two sides discussed "strengthening bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation; trade and investment facilitation; environmental conservation; cyber security; combatting terrorism; and upholding the principle of a stable, open and peaceful Indian Ocean region," said a statement by the President's Office.
The President's Office thanked the U.S. for the assistance provided during the COVID-19 pandemic, including medical equipment and two million U.S. dollars through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and for a 35-million-U.S. dollar grant signed with the Development Objective Grant Assistance (DOAG) in 2019.
Discussions were also held regarding the establishment of a U.S. embassy in the Maldives. The U.S. currently maintains diplomatic relations with the Maldives through its embassy in Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka.
Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid welcomed the announcement of the opening of the first U.S. embassy in the country as a "significant milestone" in Maldives-U.S. relations in a statement on Twitter. "The US-Maldives partnership surely has brighter days ahead," Shahid said.
Pompeo's visit to Maldives was the first by a U.S. Secretary of State since 1992. Enditem
