Maldives has rejoined the Commonwealth, bringing the total number of nations in the global organisation to 54, it has been announced. “Commonwealth members were pleased to note these developments and are happy once again to count Maldives as a member of the family. “Together we will support Maldives to realise its ambitions.”Baroness Scotland consulted the other Commonwealth nations, who all had to agree to Maldives’ readmission for it to go ahead. The Queen, head of the Commonwealth, and Commonwealth Secretary-General Baroness Scotland (right) with Commonwealth leaders in 2018 (Yui Mok/PA)In 2016, the Maldives government quit the global body under former president Yameen Abdul Gayoom, saying it had been treated “unjustly and unfairly”. Maldives, which last joined the Commonwealth in 1982, will now be part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, in June.

Source: Irish Examiner February 01, 2020 07:30 UTC