The Maldives has expressed interest in establishing contact with academic institutions in Austria to increase quality higher education opportunities for Maldivian students. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih made the statement at a ceremony held at the President’s Office for the Ambassador of Austria Katharina Wieser to present her credentials.
At the meeting, President Solih and Ambassador Wieser held discussions on an array of topics ranging from bilateral and multilateral relations, COVID-19, education and human resource development, visa facilitation, tourism cooperation, and climate change.
President Solih recognised significant progress in bilateral relations between the two countries and extended his gratitude for the continued support and cooperation extended by Austria to the Maldives. Briefing the ambassador on the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives, the president shared information about his administration’s ambitious path to revitalising the economy in the wake of the pandemic. On this topic, the ambassador praised the sound decisions made by the Maldives that led to the successful management of the COVID-19 situation and congratulated the vaccination efforts in the Maldives.
On the topic of strengthening cooperation in the fields of education and human resource development, President Solih expressed interest in establishing contact with academic institutions in Austria in the administration’s bid to increase quality higher education opportunities for Maldivian students. The ambassador assured the president that she would look into the possibility of strengthening cooperation in this field.
The president and the ambassador also discussed climate change and the role of the Maldives in the international arena. The ambassador congratulated the Maldives on its efforts in climate change action advocacy, emphasising that Austria places a high value on multilateral cooperation in its foreign policy.
President Solih also thanked the Austrian government for providing Maldivian travellers with easier visa facilitation services, expressing his desire to obtain visa-free travel for Maldivian travellers to member countries of the European Union (EU). President Solih concluded the meeting by expressing his confidence in the ambassador for continued partnerships between the two countries.
The Maldives and Austria established diplomatic relations on March 1, 1978.