Malaysian prime minister to visit Maldives

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is due to arrive in the Maldives next week on his first official visit to the country.

According to the Malaysian foreign ministry, the prime minister is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka from December 17 to 19 after attending an extraordinary summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Turkey.

“He will depart for Maldives thereafter,” reads a statement.

“Malaysia enjoys warm and deep relations with Sri Lanka and Maldives, and the visits are expected to strengthen these ties.”

President Abdulla Yameen extended an invitation to Razak during an official visit to Malaysia in March last year, during which he sought Malaysia’s help for the Maldives to avoid “unfair punishment” by the Commonwealth over widely condemned human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of former President Mohamed Nasheed and other opposition leaders.