Singapore and Maldives Signed Open Skies Agreement and Memorandum of Understanding


Maldives
PUBLISHED July 08, 2019

The President of Maldives H.E Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the Prime Minister of Singapore, H.E Lee Hsien Loong has overseen the signing of two Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between their respective governments.

The MOUs comprise of an updated Air Services Agreement, that will help improve air connectivity, establishing greater commercial links and facilitating social liaison between two countries; and an MOU on cooperation between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, which will give further impetus to the bilateral ties through establishing a framework of regular consultation. 

President Halimah Yacob, hosted President Solih to a state lunch and stated that "since diplomatic ties were established in 1975, the links between the two countries and its peoples have been growing steadily. The Open Skies Agreement will bring the peoples and businesses even closer together. Air connectivity is a crucial lifeline for our economies. It supports tourism and connects people and services".

She noted that Singapore Airlines was one of the first airlines to start direct flights to and from the Maldives in 1984, and this supports the active presence of Singapore companies such as Banyan Tree and Hotel Properties in the Maldives, and the thousands of Maldivian visitors to Singapore every year.

Currently, Singapore carriers operate a total of 20 weekly services to Male, the capital of the Maldives.

Senior Minister of State for Transport Lam Pin Min, who signed the air pact with Maldives' Foreign Affairs Minister Abdulla Shahid, also said it "underscores the strong bilateral ties between Singapore and Maldives, and will enable greater movement of people and goods between the two countries to benefit both our economies".

Meanwhile, Madam Halimah said that both countries have worked well together in the international arena and share many common interests as small island nations.

"Singapore and the Maldives are both located at the centre of the world's busiest maritime trade routes, and are highly susceptible to global strategic, economic and environmental forces," she said.

Madam Halimah noted that the agreement signed between the countries' foreign ministries will further strengthen cooperation not only bilaterally, but also at international fora. It was inked between Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Maliki Osman and Mr. Shahid.

In her speech, Madam Halimah expressed Singapore's appreciation for the Maldives' support and cooperation at the United Nations and other multilateral platforms, along with the Maldives' leadership as chair of the Alliance of Small Island States from 2015 to 2018.

Madam Halimah also said that Singapore is happy to continue sharing its developmental experiences, and announced that the Republic will offer a two-year technical cooperation package in governance and sustainable development for the Maldives.

To date, more than 1,300 Maldivian officials have participated in the Singapore Cooperation Programme, which provides courses and training for officials from other nations. Singapore has also hosted customised study visits for the Maldives in areas including education, finance, law and port management.

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