Maldives government has moved to quickly to ease UK free visa fears in the wake of the archipelago's exit from the Commonwealth.
Maldives left the Commonwealth last month citing unfair and unjust treatment weeks after the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) – the enforcement mechanism of the Commonwealth – threatened to suspend Maldives from the council at its next meeting in March if effective steps were not taken to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the archipelago .
The public had feared a backlash from the decision and rumours had been rife that Britain could tighten the free 30 day on-arrival visa to Maldives.
However, Maldives ambassador to UK, Ahmed Shiaan speaking to Avas on the sidelines of the recently concluded World Travel Market in London, assured that the free on-arrival visa would not be affected by the decision to leave the Commonwealth.
"India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are all Commonwealth nations. But they all need a visa to enter the UK. So it doesn't have anything to do with the Commonwealth," Shiaan explained pointing that the visa regulation was a bilateral arrangement between Britain and the Maldives.
Addressing opposition concerns over the impact of Commonwealth exit on tourism, Shiaan stressed that tourists do not look at Maldives' international engagements to visit the island nation.
He also insisted that the Maldives would look to boost bilateral and multilateral ties -- and understands the significance of continued international engagement.
The ambassador further noted that the now 52 member bloc had failed to offer assistance equivalent to the funds it provided to the Commonwealth.
"We pay the Commonwealth more than most other nations. But what we get in return is little compared to what we give them. So now we can utilize those funds in other more constructive areas. We can use the funds to enhance our ties with the UK or hold trade and investment forums," the ambassador explained.
"So leaving the Commonwealth has opened a lot of doors for us. Because we didn't receive much from the Commonwealth."
According to the ambassador the Maldives government is planning to host a trade and investment seminar in London before the end of the year. The main aim of this seminar would be to offer investors in UK information on economic opportunities in the archipelago including tourism, he added.
