The Maldives was Saturday informed that it is back in the Commonwealth of Nations by the Right Honourable Baroness Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations.
According to the President's Office, SG Scotland spoke President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih over the telephone on Saturday informing him of the decision. The President expressed his joy that the Maldives is once again a part of the Commonwealth family, thanking the SG and the Commonwealth Secretariat for all their assistance in expediting the process leading up to the archipelago rejoining the organization, helping to fulfil one of President Solih’s key inaugural pledges, far ahead of schedule, said the President's Office.
The President expressed his joy that the Maldives has re-acceded to the Commonwealth as its 54th member country, further highlighting the Maldives’ commitment to the core democratic values and principles of the Commonwealth, enshrined in its Charter and in the Harare Declaration. Furthermore, the President affirmed that the Maldives will be active as a contributing member of the Commonwealth, and will engage with our fellow member states on important global issues, on the basis of these values, said the President's Office.
The Maldives first joined the Commonwealth on 9th July 1982 during the tenure of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom. On 13th October 2016, during the tenure of Gayyoom's half brother Abdulla Yameen, the Maldives left the Commonwealth citing that the organization "sought to become an active participant in the domestic political discourse in the Maldives, which is contrary to the principles of the Charters of the UN and the Commonwealth".
While it was a presidential pledge of current president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to rejoin the Commonwealth, the government formally requested to rejoin the Commonwealth on December 6 2018.
The President has released a formal statement affirming that as of 1st of February 2020, the Maldives is once again a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, thus fulfilling one of this Administration’s key inaugural pledges. In his statement the President Solih stated that our rejoining the organization is symbolic of this administration’s commitment to both engage with the international community and to deliver on our domestic pledges to citizens in good faith.
The Commonwealth is an organization of over 50 member states spanning the globe and encompassing a diverse array of cultures, nations and linguistic groups, sharing in common a commitment to the democratic values and principles embodied in the Commonwealth Charter and Harare Declaration. Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II serves as the ceremonial figurehead of the organization. The Right Honourable Baroness Patricia Scotland serves as the organization’s executive head, as Secretary General.
