President Muizzu invites Pakistan PM Sharif to visit Maldives

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has extended an invitation to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to undertake an official visit to the Maldives.

The invitation was made on Wednesday as President Muizzu concluded a joint statement with Sharif during his ongoing official visit to Pakistan at the Prime Minister's invitation.

President Muizzu thanked Sharif and his delegation for the welcome and hospitality extended to him and the Maldivian delegation during the visit.

He said the Maldives would be pleased to welcome the Pakistani Prime Minister and extend similar hospitality.

"I would like to invite Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to undertake an official visit to the Maldives," President Muizzu said.

The President also expressed hope that relations between the Maldives and Pakistan would continue to strengthen.

"My prayer is that the close, brotherly relations between the Maldives and Pakistan will grow even stronger in the future," he said.

President Muizzu's visit marks the first visit to Pakistan by a Maldivian President in 11 years.

The visit comes as the Maldives and Pakistan mark 60 years of diplomatic relations and seek to expand cooperation across several sectors.

The last visit to the Maldives by a Pakistani Prime Minister took place in 2017, when then Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited the country at the invitation of former President Abdulla Yameen.

Pakistan and India have historically maintained a regional rivalry, while India remains one of the Maldives' principal development partners.