Minister Kang Kyung-hwa Talks with Maldives Foreign Minister: "Please Prevent Unjust Rights Violations and Inconveniences"

Maldives, Seoul Area Excluded from Entry Ban
Minister Kang Requests "Reconsideration of Entry Ban Measures for Other Areas"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] On the afternoon of the 2nd, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a phone call with Abdullah Shahid, Foreign Minister of the Maldives, and conveyed the South Korean government's position regarding the Maldives' entry ban on South Korean nationals coming from certain regions of our country.

Minister Kang gave a preliminary evaluation of the Maldives government's decision to postpone the implementation date of the measure from the original 28th to the 3rd, considering the South Korean government's position and the convenience of our nationals, and to exclude the Seoul area from the entry ban. She also explained that our government is taking transparent and proactive measures at the whole-of-government level to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and is responding with full efforts.

Minister Kang also requested, "We ask the Maldives government to refrain from additional measures and to reconsider the entry ban on regions other than the areas with concentrated confirmed cases," and urged, "Please make special efforts to ensure that our nationals do not suffer any unjust infringement of rights or inconvenience under any circumstances."

In response, Minister Shahid said, "We are aware that South Korea is making full efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19," but explained, "However, as the Maldives is an island nation with a vulnerable quarantine system, it was unavoidable to take this measure to prepare for any eventuality."

He also stated, "The Maldives government's decision to exclude the Seoul area from this measure was made in consideration of the friendly relations between the two countries," and added, "We will continue to review to ensure that the entry ban on South Korean nationals is not excessive and will pay maximum attention to protect the rights and interests of South Korean travelers to the Maldives."

Meanwhile, both ministers agreed that, based on the friendship and trust between the two countries, they can overcome the current situation together, and decided to continue close communication between the two governments.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.