The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday thanked the Maldivian government for its decision to recognize Kosovo Independence.
In a message sent to Maldives Foreign Minister Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, US State Secretary Clinton stated that government’s decision greatly contributes to efforts to promote a stable and prosperous future for Kosovo and the Western Balkans. Expressing hope that other countries will follow the Maldives example in recognizing Kosovo in the near future, US State Secretary also commended the foreign minister Shaheed’s leadership and welcomed his efforts to encourage other countries to support Kosovo.
In response, foreign minister Shaheed thanked US State Secretary Hilary for her message on Kosovo independence. Shaheed said he worked very closely with key allies of the Maldives in responding to the situation in the western Balkans, and had given a heads up on the decision to recognize Kosovo to the envoys of USA, UK and India, among others.
“Both the UK government and the US government, who maintained a close dialogue with me on developments in Kosovo, would have been in no doubt that the Maldives would recognize Kosovo” because it was “the right thing to do” Foreign minister Shaheed wrote in his response.
He also added that Maldives will continue to lobby with other countries to recognize Kosovo.
Dr Shaheed is currently in Berlin to seek German assistance for capacity-building of Maldives Police and to lobby potential investors and to promote President Nasheed's plans to develop the Maldives through foreign investment and public-private partnerships.
US welcome Maldives recognition of Kosovo