Right after the UK left the European Union, Maldives rejoined the Commonwealth. The nation quit the Commonwealth in 2016 after being threatened with suspension over its human rights record and lack of progress on democratic reform.
The Maldives was readmitted into the Commonwealth on Saturday, days after a meeting between Maldives Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid and Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Patricia Scotland.
India congratulated the Government of Maldives on its readmission to the Commonwealth of Nations as its 54th member. “India has always been a key supporter of Maldives’ readmission and for it to play a larger role in international organisations and the comity of nations. We are committed to working closely with the Maldives on shared Commonwealth goals like development, democracy and peace,” MEA said.
With this, the total number of nations in the Commonwealth comes to 54. the nation famed for its pristine beaches was threatened with sanctions including suspension if it failed to show progress in key democratic governance issues. This also included freeing political leaders and to misuse of anti-terrorism legislation.
The nation, mainly comprising of 1,200 islands, elected Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to be its president in 2018, who immediately applied to rejoin the Commonwealth.
The Queen is the symbolic head of the Commonwealth, and more than 2.4 billion citizens make up the voluntary association.
The current Male government believes in the importance of being a member of the Commonwealth while upholding and promoting human rights, freedom of expression, and democracy.
