President Dr Mohamed Muizzu will undertake a state visit to Pakistan from 20 to 22 October, the President's Office has said, in the first high-level visit between the two countries in a decade.
The visit comes at the invitation of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. The President is scheduled to meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials.
He will hold official talks with Prime Minister Sharif "to strengthen the close relations between the Maldives and Pakistan", the President's Office said. The two leaders will then witness the exchange of several memoranda of understanding covering areas of cooperation.
Sixty years of relations
The visit falls in the year the two countries mark the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations, established on 26 July 1966.
The President's Office said the trip reflects the government's "Maldives First" foreign policy, which it describes as prioritising close relations with neighbouring countries and active international engagement to strengthen the bilateral partnerships that drive the country's development.
President Muizzu will be accompanied by First Lady Sajidha Mohamed and a delegation of cabinet ministers and senior government officials.
What the two leaders have discussed before
The President and Prime Minister Sharif last met on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2024. At that meeting they explored cooperation in commerce, trade, education and tourism, and discussed increasing direct flights between the two countries, according to the President's Office.
Prime Minister Sharif commended the Maldives' progress in tourism and expressed interest in drawing on Maldivian expertise to develop Pakistan's own tourism sector.
The two also discussed climate change and adaptation, and President Muizzu raised his administration's "5 Million Tree Project", proposed at COP28, as a possible area of collaboration.