Bangladesh and the Maldives will hold bilateral talks on Tuesday to find ways to strengthen the relations between the two countries, giving a focus on trade and investment and the welfare of Bangladeshi workers in the Maldives.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and his counterpart from the Maldives Abdulla Shahid will lead the respective side in the talks to be held at State guesthouse Padma.

The issue of possible visit of the President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, to Dhaka in March 2021 may come up for discussions at the meeting.

The Foreign Minister of the Maldives is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka at 11pm on Monday (today) on an official visit to Bangladesh at the invitation of his Bangladesh counterpart Dr Momen.

Also read: Bangladesh keen to work closely with Maldives on climate change issues

The two Foreign Ministers will also witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation between the Bangladesh Foreign Service Academy and the Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives.

During the visit, the Foreign Minister of the Maldives is also expected to meet President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Bangladesh and the Maldives share "excellent" bilateral relation which has been strengthened over the years.

Also read: Maldives extends ban on new Bangladeshi labour recruits

Around 80,000 Bangladeshi expatriates are currently working in that country.

Minister Shahid is accompanied by Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor and Joint Secretary Fathimath Ghina, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives.