Sri Lanka, Maldives ink key agreements on health and cultural cooperation

Sri Lanka and the Maldives on Wednesday (June 07) signed three Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) in the fields of health cooperation, cultural cooperation and the establishment of a Maldives Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka.

The agreement on cultural cooperation will provide the opportunity for both countries to cultivate and develop closer and stronger cultural relations between the Maldives and Sri Lanka.

It will also promote cooperation in the fields of heritage conservation, preservation and archaeology.

Maldives’ Minister of State for Arts, Culture & Heritage, Mohamed Thoriq and Secretary to Sri Lanka’s Buddhasasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs Ministry, Somarathne Vidanapathirana inked the MoU on cultural cooperation.

Meanwhile, the agreement on health cooperation is expected to contribute to enhanced Maldives-Sri Lanka collaboration in this field. It was signed by Maldives’ Deputy Minister of Health Shamau Shareef and Additional Secretary (Medical Services) to Sri Lanka’s Health Ministry Dr. A.K. Sunil Bernard De Alwis.

The MoU on the establishment of the Maldives Cultural Centre in Sri Lanka – signed by High Commissioner of Maldives Ali Faiz and Secretary to the Ministry of Buddhasasana, Religious & Cultural Affairs Somarathne Vidanapathirana – will strengthen, promote and develop cultural cooperation between the two countries.

The Maldivian foreign minister said he is confident that this Cultural Centre will give further impetus to the bilateral ties between the two countries.

The agreements were inked on the sidelines of the 4th Session of the Sri Lanka-Maldives Joint Commission, co-chaired by Foreign Affairs Minister Ali Sabry and his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid in Colombo.

Taking to Twitter, Sabry said the two sides have discussed the initiatives and the way forward to further advance multifaceted engagement for the benefit of the two nations.

Shahid tweeted that the Maldives looks forward to holding constructive discussions on ways to further deepen the ties of friendship between our two countries.

The two foreign ministers also held separate a bilateral discussion during which Shahid thanked the Sri Lankan Government’s willingness to ease the procedure for obtaining visas for the Maldivian students under the age of 18 on a reciprocal basis.

During his visit, Shahid also called on President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Wednesday and agreed to continue working together to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.