Aishath Azeema is a Maldivian diplomat currently serving as the
Maldives' ambassador to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
.
After completing the
GCE Ordinary Level, Azeema subsequently joined the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...
as a public servant in 1988.
She worked in various departments, primarily the Department of External Resources and the Foreign Relations Department, at one point serving as
English secretary at the ministry.
For five years, she served as a minister-counsellor and head of chancery at the Maldivian Embassy in
India, a close partner nation to the Maldives.
Having returned to serve as joint secretary in charge of the China and Japan Divisions in 2014,
Azeema helped negotiate the Maldives' first bilateral
free trade agreement, with China, which beginning with the presidency of
Abdulla Yameen has become a major influence in the country.
Then, after a stint as chargé d'affaires or deputy secretary at the Maldivian Embassy in the
United Kingdom, she was appointed ambassador to China in 2019.
During her tenure, Azeema has worked to build "enduring friendly ties" with Beijing. In the early stages of the
COVID-19 pandemic, she oversaw government support to Maldivians in China.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azeema, Aishath
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Maldivian women diplomats
Women ambassadors
Ambassadors of the Maldives to China