4th Annual Meeting of the Honorary Consuls/General of Maldives in India
31 May 2016: New Delhi - The 4th Meeting of the Honorary Consuls/General of Maldives in India was held at the High Commission this morning.
The meeting was attended by the Honorary Consul General in Kolkata, Mr. Chandra Shekhar Jaiswal; Honorary Consul in Bengaluru, Dr. Joseph Bayali George; Honorary Consul in Mumbai, Mr Shalin Narain Tandon and Consul at the Consulate of Maldives in Trivandrum, Mr. Ali Adam along with the diplomatic staff of the High Commission.
The meeting was opened by the High Commissioner to India, His Excellency Ahmed Mohamed, welcoming the Honorary Consuls/General to the meeting.
Excellency Ahmed Mohamed gave a presentation on the roles, functions and expectations from an Honorary Consul that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have, highlighting the requirement for the Honorary Consuls to visit Maldives once a year and to send a quarterly report of the activities of the Consuls to the High Commission. The High Commissioner also highlighted the importance of promoting and further strengthening closer ties between Maldives and the local Government authorities, as well as with the educational, cultural, scientific, and business communities in the area of jurisdiction.
The expectation of the Government of Maldives to promptly attend to consular requirements of Maldivians was discussed and views exchanged on how to strengthen and streamline consular services. Further the discussions also focussed on way forward to increase visibility for promotion of Maldives in India.
In addition to this, information on the status of the work ongoing for the publication of the commemorative magazine on Maldives that is to be released for the Independence Day this year, and the Maldives Investment Forum 2016 to be held in New Delhi later this year was also presented in the meeting. These presentations were done by Minister/DCM Ms. Shazra Abdul Sattar and Minister-Counsellor Ms. Fathimath Shafeega.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Honorary Consuls/ General expressed their appreciation, stating that the meeting has been very useful and informative. Their contribution to further the relationship between Maldives and India may be provided in a more meaningful and effective way, in light of the constructive proposals and recommendations given in the meeting.
High Commissioner Ahmed Mohamed concluded the meeting by thanking the Honorary Consuls for their work and expressed hope for more involvement by the Honorary Consuls with the media and business communities of India, to encourage engagement by the same in the Maldives.
Source/ Maldives Highcom./New Delhi
