New Japanese envoy Ishigami presents credentials to Maldives’ leader

The new Japanese ambassador Ishigami Rumiko has presented her letter of credence to Maldivian president Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

Ishigami presented her credentials in a ceremony held at the President's Office in Male’ on Tuesday morning.

Ishigami was escorted to there from the Republic Square on Tuesday morning in a cultural procession called the ‘haiykolhu’ with the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF)’s drum and trumpet band.

President Muizzu accepted her letter of credence and congratulated her on her new appointment.

Following the presentation of credentials, President Muizzu and Ishigami discussed potential areas for collaboration between Male’ and Tokyo, including disaster management assistance and renewable energy.

They both expressed their interest in collaborating to further advance the strong ties between the two countries.

 President Muizzu also thanked the Japanese government for its continuous support in various developmental efforts in the Maldives throughout the years.

Ishigami, who joined the foreign service in 1985, most recently served as consul-general of Japan in Hagatna.

She replaced Takeuchi Midori, who left her role as Japan’s top envoy in the Maldives on December 18, 2024, after three nearly years of service.

Maldives and Japan established official diplomatic relations on November 15, 1967.

Since the mid-1980s, Japan has been one of the biggest bilateral development partners of the Maldives, providing support for human resources development to environmental protection, sustainable fisheries to communication and humanitarian, and reconstruction assistance in the aftermath of the tsunami in 2004. People to people contact as well as trade and commercial relations have also grown steadily over the years.