A delegation from the Commonwealth has arrived in Maldives to assess the current situation of the country before accepting the country's application to rejoin the organization.
The delegation was received and welcomed by Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed on Tuesday.
The assessment team, headed by Head of Asia for the Commonwealth and advisor Albert Mariner will be evaluating to see if the country meets the requirements to join the Commonwealth.
The Maldives was a member of the Commonwealth for 34 consecutive years since 1982, before leaving the organization in 2016 during former president, Yameen Abdul Gayyoom's tenure. President Yameen had accused the Commonwealth of interfering and attempting to influence with the internal affairs of the Maldives.
During Tuesday's meeting, Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor said the Maldives had received several benefits during the country's time as a member state of the organization. Maldives was able to participate and contribute to discussions on important global issues, noted Ghafoor.
Rejoining the Commonwealth is a presidential pledge of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It has also been listed as a target the incumbent government wishes to achieve within the first 100 days of administration.
The President has also vowed to re-kindle friendship with countries that the Maldives had cut off during the previous government, including Qatar and Iran.
Maldivian officials with delegation from Commonwealth - Photo: Foreign Ministry
