President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed have concluded their official state visit to Pakistan and returned to Malé on Friday, marking the end of a pivotal three-day diplomatic mission. The state visit, held from October 20 to 22, was undertaken upon the official invitation of Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and coincided with the historic 60th anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
During the visit, President Muizzu engaged in high-level bilateral discussions with Prime Minister Sharif and met with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, alongside key dignitaries including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, and parliamentary leaders. The talks focused on significantly expanding mutual cooperation across trade, investment, healthcare, higher education, tourism, agriculture, defense, and regional connectivity.
A key highlight of the visit was the signing and exchange of 20 bilateral agreements and Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the presence of both leaders. Aiming to foster robust economic ties, both governments officially set an ambitious target to scale bilateral trade volume to 200 million US dollars over the next two years. Addressing the Maldives-Pakistan Business Forum in Islamabad, President Muizzu also invited Pakistani businesses to invest in food security, renewable energy, and Islamic finance.
Enhancing cross-border connectivity was placed at the forefront of the discussions, with President Muizzu announcing that the national carrier, Maldivian, will soon launch direct scheduled flights connecting Malé and Karachi. The initiative is anticipated to provide a major boost to commercial trade, business exchanges, medical travel, and tourism flows between both friendly nations.
Reinforcing people-to-people and environmental ties, Pakistan announced the contribution of 100,000 olive saplings and 100,000 assorted plant varieties to support the Maldives' national Five Million Trees project. Accompanied by a high-level government delegation comprising Cabinet ministers and senior state officials, the President wrapped up the visit with a shared commitment to translate six decades of warm diplomatic ties into tangible socioeconomic dividends for both peoples.