Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son receives the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives.

On October 24th, Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son received Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel on the occasion of the Minister's participation in the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention against Cybercrime in Hanoi (the Convention). He welcomed Minister Abdulla Khaleel for representing the Government at the signing ceremony and thanked Maldives for its close support and cooperation with Vietnam in hosting this important event.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son receives Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel. Photo: An Dang/VNA.

Minister Abdulla Khaleel highly appreciated Vietnam's role as host, emphasizing that this Convention is of particular importance - the first United Nations Convention on combating cybercrime; and expressed gratitude to Vietnam for the thoughtful and cordial reception given to the Minister.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son highly appreciated the good friendship between Vietnam and Maldives over the past 50 years (1975-2025); expressed his appreciation for Maldives' support for Vietnam both bilaterally and at multilateral forums of the United Nations, most recently supporting Vietnam's election to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 term.

Minister Abdulla Khaleel highly appreciated Vietnam as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region; emphasizing that the two countries share many commonalities, both being maritime nations with long coastlines and vast exclusive economic zones; and sharing common interests in maintaining peace and stability in the region, as well as in responding to non-traditional security challenges such as climate change and rising sea levels.

Both sides agreed to promptly establish a dialogue mechanism between the two Ministries of Foreign Affairs, and to expedite the signing of cooperation documents in various fields to create an important legal foundation for identifying priority areas and deepening cooperation in promising areas, including trade, tourism, fisheries, aquaculture and seafood processing, agriculture, and construction.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son receives Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel. Photo: An Dang/VNA.

Minister Abdulla Khaleel expressed his desire to send Maldivian business delegations to Vietnam to learn from Vietnam's experience in aquaculture and seafood processing, and also expressed his willingness to share experiences with Vietnam in tuna fishing and processing, and tourism development – ​​a strength of the Maldives. The Minister also urged Vietnamese businesses to consider investing in tourism and accommodation development in the Maldives, as this is a highly promising and profitable sector.

Deputy Prime Minister Bui Thanh Son and Minister Abdulla Khaleel agreed to strengthen people-to-people exchanges between the two countries by promoting direct flights from airlines, as well as enhancing policies to facilitate travel for citizens and businesses of both countries.

Both sides also affirmed their commitment to further strengthen close cooperation and mutual support in multilateral forums, particularly in supporting each other's candidacies for key United Nations bodies.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/pho-thu-tuong-bui-thanh-son-tiep-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-maldives-20251025074405275.htm