Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef has extended greetings for the 61st Independence Day to the nation. In a statement published on the social media platform X, he offered sincere good wishes for the occasion to all Maldivian citizens. Underscoring the country's enduring freedom, he observed in his remarks that the nation must remain in a state of independent sovereignty for eternity.
The Maldives initially became a British protectorate in the year 1887. British authorities did not exert influence over the internal and domestic affairs of the Maldivian people during the era in which the country remained under their protection.
The annual national holiday is celebrated to commemorate the pivotal agreement established between the Maldivian and British governments on July 26, 1965. The occasion marks the precise historical moment the British government formally recognised the Maldives as a fully independent state, endowed with complete governing authority over its collective constituent islands.