Secretary Blinken’s Meeting with Foreign Minister Shahid

The below is attributable to Spokesperson Matthew Miller:

Secretary of State Antony Blinken met today with Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid. The Secretary expressed his support for deepening bilateral relations, most notably with the re-establishment of a Maldives embassy in Washington, DC and the prospective establishment of U.S. Embassy Malé.

He thanked Maldives for their proactive leadership in the Summit for Democracy and noted that Maldives remains a leader in the region on promoting and strengthening democracy. The Secretary reiterated our joint commitment to economic growth, adapting to a changing climate, defense cooperation, free and fair elections, and open and free media in Maldives.

Secretary Blinken added that the United States looks forward to enhancing people-to-people engagement in higher education with Maldives, and to growing the bilateral ties between our nations.