Foreign Minister Dr.Muhammad Asim have said that even Maldives leaves Commonwealth, Maldives will be much more active in the international arena.
Speaking to the press at the President’s Office Dr.Asim said that Maldives is a member of the UN, SAARC and also that Maldives is the chair of Alliance of Small Island Sates. He said that Maldives has memberships in several other international organizations and plays key roles in these organizations.
Dr.Asim said that in addition to being active in these organizations, Maldives will also work to improve bilateral relations with various other countries. He said that Maldives joined Commonwealth in 1982 with high hopes and under the belief that Commonwealth will work to find solutions for the many problems faced by small island nations like Maldives.
He further said that Maldives always worked with Commonwealth in a transparent manner in hopes of beneficial outcomes for the Maldives. He said that he was saddened by the fact that Commonwealth refused to accept the numerous achievements Maldives has seen in the past few years to establish and strengthen a democratic governance system.
To improve governance in the Maldives, President Yameen’s government passed 110 laws, out of which 94 laws are directly related to the values of Commonwealth. 69 of them ensures human rights, strengthens democratic system and helps in separation of powers. We see positive results from these things” said Dr.Asim.
Dr.Asim said that Maldives decided to leave Commonwealth because, Commonwealth treats Maldives unfairly and in an unjust manner by trying to influence internal matters of the country. He said that these actions violate the charters of both Commonwealth and the UN.
“Since Maldives is a small nation, Commonwealth Secretariat and CMAG tries to take action against us. They try to project power in the name of democracy” said Dr.Asim.
He further said that he does not believe that leaving Commonwealth will have negative implications on Maldivian economy. He stressed that all the decisions of the government are in the best interest of the people and to attain economic development.
Speaking at the press conference, Attorney General Anil said that leaving Commonwealth should not have any negative impacts on the economy of Maldives and if there are any that will be because of few Maldivians who want to harm Maldives.