Speaker of Parliament Qasim Ibrahim has expressed his gratitude to the British government the British Ambassador for providing an of visa processes for Maldivians.

The British Ambassador to Maldives Mr. James Dauris paid a courtesy call to the Speaker of Parliament Qasim Ibrahim.

The Parliamentary secretariat informed that Qasim Ibrahim had highlighted the strong ties between Maldives and Britain throughout time, durung this meeting.

As such, the secretariat informed that the Speaker Qasim Ibrahim had welcomed the efforts by the British government to commence an embassy in Maldives. Qasim Ibrahim had also informed the British ambassador as to the work carried out by the 18th Parliamentary body of Maldives and spoke of the upcoming Parliamentary elections.

The British Ambassador assured that the friendly ties between the two nations will be seen in the future, in various different areas.

The Parliamentary secretariat also informed that Ambassador Dauris had noted that Maldives is a popular tourist destination for British nationals. He had also offered his confidence that Britain will always extend a hand of aid to Maldives.

The secretariat informed that there was talk during this meeting of ways to strengthen ties between the two nations.

While Maldivian students studying in Britain had faced certain difficulties in visa, the British government had taken the decision to offer ease of visa processes for these students on 17 June 2018.

In addition to that, a statement released by the British Minister of Foreign Affairs on 14 July 2018 declared that the Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be accepting visa applications on the 7 and 8 of August 2018.