Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen is to make a state visit to Sri Lanka on Tuesday, on the invitation of Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During the three-day visit, President Yameen will hold one-to-one deliberations with his Sri Lankan counterpart on charting the course for future Maldives-Sri Lanka bilateral ties.

An official welcoming ceremony will be held at the presidential secretariat. President Rajapaksa and Sri Lankan First Lady Shirathi Rajapaksa will host President Yameen and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim for a state luncheon at the president’s house.

The president will be joined by a high-level delegation that includes Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim, Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) leader Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, foreign minister Dunya Maumoon, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) vice president Abdul Raheem Abdulla, minority leader of parliament and deputy leader of PPM parliamentary group Moosa Zameer, chief whip of PPM parliamentary group Ali Arif, ministers at the president’s office Mohamed Hussain Shareef and Abdulla Ameen, police chief Hussain Waheed and foreign secretary Dr Ali Naseer Mohamed.

President Yameen and President Rajapaksa will lead official bilateral talks between senior delegations of the two countries.

During his stay in Sri Lanka, the president will meet with the Maldivian community in Sri Lanka. He will also meet with selected members of the Sri Lankan cabinet.

A business forum organised by the Sri Lanka-Maldivian Business Council will also be held as part of President Yameen’s state visit. The forum to discuss ways to enhance business and investment ties between Maldives and Sri Lanka will be attended by senior business delegations of both countries.

President Yameen’s visit to Sri Lanka will be his second since assuming office. His first official visit abroad was to India early this month. – Haveeru Online