President Muizzu Returns to Malé Following Official State Visit to Pakistan
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed have concluded their official state visit to Pakistan and returned to Malé, following bilateral talks that established an ambitious target to scale trade between the two nations to USD 200 million within the next two years.
The three-day state visit, held from 20 to 22 October at the invitation of Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, coincided with the sixtieth anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Maldives and Pakistan.
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During the visit, President Muizzu held high-level discussions with Prime Minister Sharif and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
He also met senior civilian and military leaders, including Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, and Senate Chairman Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani.
Discussions centred on strengthening strategic cooperation across trade, investment, defence, healthcare, education, tourism, fisheries, agriculture, and multilateral coordination. The engagements culminated in the formal exchange of twenty Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) across various sectors.
Addressing the Maldives–Pakistan Business Forum 2026 in Islamabad, President Muizzu urged Pakistani enterprises to pursue long-term partnerships and direct investment in food security, healthcare delivery, construction, engineering, renewable energy, and Islamic finance.
To underpin commercial and passenger connectivity, the President announced plans for national carrier Maldivian to launch direct flight services between Malé and Karachi in the near future.
In support of environmental collaboration, Pakistan pledged to contribute 100,000 olive tree cuttings and 100,000 seeds of assorted plant species towards the Maldivian administration’s five-million-tree planting initiative.
The President and the First Lady were accompanied throughout the official visit by a delegation comprising Cabinet Ministers and senior government officials.
