Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has met with Dave Williams, Chargé d'Affaires of the United States Embassy in the Maldives.
Shaheem posted on X that it was a pleasure to welcome the head of the US Embassy to the ministry. He expressed hope for strengthened bilateral relations and continued constructive dialogue.
The meeting comes more than a year after the United States denied Shaheem an entry visa. At the time, he was scheduled to attend a conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. The US withheld the visa without providing an official reason.
This was reported as the only known instance of a sitting Maldivian cabinet minister being denied a US visa.
The Islamic Ministry described the recent meeting as a courtesy call. No further details on the discussion were released.