FM Qureshi felicitates Maldives on rejoining Commonwealth

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Sunday felicitated the government and the people of the Maldives on rejoining the Commonwealth.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “We are delighted that Maldives has rejoined the Commonwealth family.”

“Pakistan looks forward to working closely with Maldives to achieve our shared objectives of peace,
development and prosperity.”

We are delighted that Maldives has rejoined the Commonwealth family.
Congratulations to the Government and the people of Maldives.
Pakistan looks forward to working closely with Maldives to achieve our shared objectives of peace,
development and prosperity.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) February 2, 2020

Commonwealth nations on Saturday welcomed back the Maldives 40 months after it angrily quit the organisation over criticism of its human rights record under strongman president Abdulla Yameen.

The move is a new step in ending the international isolation that the Indian Ocean holiday destination suffered under Yameen’s rule from 2015 to 2018. The group of mainly former British colonies said an application to return made by the Maldives had been approved after “due diligence” including a country assessment.

The country has sought to repair its image after Yameen suffered a shock defeat in a 2018 election to Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The Commonwealth said reforms underway in Maldives were in line with the group’s values and they encouraged Solih to pursue the measures.