Newly accredited ambassadors and high commissioners from Portugal, Bhutan, Canada, Austria, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Turkmenistan and Laos paid separate courtesy calls on Foreign Minister Iruthisham Adam on Thursday after presenting their credentials to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu earlier in the day.

Congratulating the envoys on their appointments, Minister Iruthisham reaffirmed the Maldives' commitment to strengthening bilateral relations with each country and discussed opportunities to broaden cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The meetings covered a range of issues, including education, trade, tourism, climate change, economic cooperation and engagement in multilateral fora.

Talks with Bhutan focused on expanding development cooperation through capacity building, technical exchanges and the sharing of expertise in climate resilience, sustainable tourism, agriculture, digital transformation and human resource development, while both sides also discussed strengthening economic ties and promoting greater people-to-people exchanges. Discussions with Canada highlighted cooperation in education, tourism and economic development, while the meeting with Austria explored collaboration in education, climate change and trade.

During meetings with Burkina Faso and Ghana, Minister Iruthisham reiterated the Maldives' commitment to strengthening engagement with African countries, while discussions with Portugal centred on deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The meetings with Turkmenistan and Laos reaffirmed both sides' commitment to enhancing bilateral ties and working closely on issues of mutual concern in multilateral fora.

The meetings concluded with both the Maldives and the newly accredited envoys expressing confidence that bilateral relations would continue to expand through closer cooperation and sustained diplomatic engagement.