Sri Lanka and Maldives discussed ways to strengthen security and defence cooperation and the need to revive the Joint Commission that has been dormant since September 2014, when the foreign ministers of the two countries met this week.
The two counterparts Maldivian Foreign Affairs Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim and Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera agreed the importance of convening the Joint commission as soon as possible and it will be done in January next year, Maldivian High Comissioner Zahiya Zareer told Sunday Observer.
Dr. Asim called on Minister Samaraweera at his Ministry on Friday. The discussions which touched on a number of bi-lateral issues also covered health, education, fisheries and tourism sectors.
The Maldivian Foreign Minister also met the Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake to discuss streghtening of trade relations between the two countries. Without elaborating High Commissioner Zareer said, the two countries ‘really need to work on certain areas of cooperation’. One of the key areas of discussion between the two counterparts were strengthening of maritime security and defence cooperation. India, too, signed a defence cooperation pact with Maldives in April this year to strengthen cooperation in fighting terrorism and radicalisation.