The “EP-Maldives Friendship Group” has been founded at the European Parliament.
The group was founded by 14 members of the European Parliament from the political groups of EPP, S&D, Renew, ECR and ID, representing 11 different nationalities. The EP-Maldives Friendship Group will serve as a platform for regular exchanges of views and discussions between members of the European Parliament and Maldivian representatives. The main objective of the informal group is to contribute to fostering closer ties with the European Union and building new avenues of cooperation in the coming years.
During the inaugural meeting, members of the EP-Maldives Friendship Group warmly welcomed the Foreign Secretary of the Maldives, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and the rest of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs delegation of senior officials who have travelled to Brussels to participate in the 2nd Senior Officials Meeting between the Maldives and the European Union.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of the Group, MEP Tomáš Zdechovský said the diplomatic relations of Maldives and the EU has just entered a new phase, with the founding of the friendship group. He added from now on, Maldivians can count on the support of European Parliament Friendship Group and know that the deepening of the EU-Maldives cooperation will remain on the European Parliament table.
Speaking at the inauguration event, Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed noted the launching of the friendship group of Maldives within the European Parliament is a key moment in the history of Maldives-EU relations and renews the Maldives’ commitment to continue the path towards fully consolidating democracy, ensuring good governance and promoting respect for human rights.
During the meeting with the members of the European Parliament, Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed briefed the EP-Maldives Friendship Group on the current situation in the country, as well as on the recent developments in the Maldives-European Union relations.