Maldives and Pakistan exchange 20 Memoranda of Understanding covering technology, narcotics control and defence

21 October 2026

Twenty Memoranda of Understanding between the Maldivian and Pakistani governments were exchanged in the presence of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif. The Maldives President's Office listed each of the twenty documents together with the ministers who exchanged them. One of the documents covers information technology, cyber security, artificial intelligence, digital skills and technology, and was signed on the Maldivian side by Ali Ihusaan, Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology. A second takes up the fight against illicit trafficking in narcotic drugs, in psychotropic substances and in the chemicals used to make them. Geela Ali, Minister of Health, Family and Welfare, signed papers on social protection, on health cooperation and on the recruitment of health professionals. The health document also links the Maldives Food and Drug Authority with the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan. A separate defence cooperation understanding between the two countries was also part of the set.