His Excellency Wataru Takeshita, Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan and Member of the House of Representatives of Japan paid a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid today. Mr. Takeshita is also the President of the Japan-Maldives Parliamentary Friendship League and is in the Maldives on invitation from President Ibrahim Solih to attend the Presidential Inauguration Ceremony that was held on 17 November 2018. Mr. Takeshita has previously visited the Maldives in 2014.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister Shahid and the Special Envoy discussed ways to further strengthen the relations between the two countries in areas of mutual interest. The Foreign Minster emphasised on the historic and lasting relations between the two countries that is founded on a mutual understanding of trust and friendship. The Foreign Minister also recognised and thanked the Government of Japan for the development assistance provided by Japan which is featured prominently throughout the development journey of the Maldives.

The Special Envoy was also accompanied by His Excellency Masayoshi Yoshino, Member of House of Representatives, who recognised and thanked the Government of the Maldives for its assistance to Japan during the 2011 earthquake.

The resident Ambassador of Japan to the Maldives, His Excellency Kazumi Endo and other senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan was also present in the meeting.

Foreign Minister Shahid was accompanied by His Excellency Ahmed Khaleel, Secretary Bilateral at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Fathimath Najwa, Joint Secretary, and Ms. Zeena Mohamed Didi, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Reference to Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/

Over three hundred foreign dignitaries from forty six countries are expected to attend the Official Inauguration Ceremony of the President and the Vice President of the Maldives. The inauguration ceremony will be held on Saturday, 17 November 2018 in the National Stadium in Male’.

Among the high-level dignitaries attending the ceremony include the Prime Minister of India, H.E. Mr. Narendra Modi, who is scheduled to arrive in the Maldives on the day of the inauguration ceremony. This will be the first visit of Prime Minister Modi to the Maldives.

Some of the high-level dignitaries expected to attend the ceremony are;

- H.E. Madam Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga, Former Head of State of Sri Lanka
- His Royal Highness Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdul Aziz Alsaud, Advisor to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia 
- His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Son of the Crown Prince of the UAE
- H.E. Mr. Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan
- Hon. Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka
- Hon. Faiszer Mustapha, Minister of Provincial Councils, Local Government and Sports of Sri Lanka
- H.E. Dr. Riad Malki, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine
- H.E. Mr Luo Shugang, Minister of Culture and Tourism as Special Envoy of the President of China
- Hon. Mr. Wataru Takeshita, Member of House of Representatives of Japan as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of Japan
- Her Excellency Mounia Boucetta, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation as Special Envoy of the King of Morocco
- H.E. Mr. Mohamed Afif, Secretary of State Cabinet Affairs of Seychelles
- H.E. Mr. Yavuz Selim Kiran, Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkey, as Special Envoy of the President of Turkey
- Ambassador Zoran Vujic, Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as Special Envoy of the President of Serbia
- Mr. Jean-Christophe Belliard, Deputy Secretary-General of the European Union External Action Service
- Mr. Martin Chungong, Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union
- H.E. Mr. Amjad Hussain B. Sial, Secretary General of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation

In addition, several Ambassadors, senior government officials and business leaders from different countries are expected to attend the ceremony.

During their visit, several dignitaries will be paying Courtesy Calls on the President and are expected to attend an Official Reception, to be held in Kurumba Maldives on 17 November 2018.

ENDS

Reference to Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://foreign.gov.mv/index.php/en/

Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) in association with Red Bull have launched the 2nd Edition of the Adventures of Maldives (Dhivehi Aahitha) Facebook Video Competition today. Adventures of Maldives is co-sponsored by Euro Store and Tech Street.

The Adventures of Maldives (Dhivehi Aahitha) is a co-promotional marketing activity that was initiated in 2017, aimed at showcasing personally shot video stories of locals and tourists engaging in adventurous activities in Maldives which will have positive promotional value to the Maldives as a tourism destination. Adventures of Maldives has been defined as conventional adventure related activities in the Maldives such as scuba diving, island excursions, festivals, free diving, surfing, snorkeling, watersports, etc. and also as unconventional adventure related activities in the Maldives.

The winners of this competition is set to receive over MVR 120,000 as prize money. The top 10 videos selected after judging will also be featured on the official YouTube channel of MMPRC (Visit Maldives) and promoted on other social and online media channels of MMPRC (Visit Maldives) as well as International Travel and Trade Fairs.

The Adventures of Maldives Facebook Competition 2017 held in October /November 2017 received a total of 46 videos. The Competition received immense popularity on Facebook, receiving over 80k views for the most watched video. The videos that received the most likes / views were shortlisted and judged by an independent panel who selected the winner and the top 10 videos of the competition, where the top finalist received a total of MVR 100,000 as prize money. 
The videos can be submitted through www.visitmaldives.com/adventures from the 26th of October 2018 till 2pm of the 26th of November 2018. The voting period will take place from the 28th of November 2018 till 2pm of the 4th of December 2018. The judging process will take place from the 10th – 12th of December 2018 and the prizes will be disseminated to the winners during the second week of December 2018.

Reference to MMPRC news: https://visitmaldives.com/submit-your-1-minute-videos-for-adventures-of-maldives-and-stand-a-chance-to-win-mvr-120000/