Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday announced arrangements to provide on-arrival visa from 40 Commonwealth nations to Maldives, following the archipelago's reinstatement in the intergovernmental organisation.
Commonwealth officially informed Maldives of its re-admission on February 1, 2020, after almost four years since former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom withdrew the island nation from the organisation in 2016. Yameen had made the decision, claiming that the Commonwealth was meddling in the civil issues of the country and differentiating between other member states.
Rejoining the Commonwealth was one of the key foreign policy pledges of incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. The administration formally submitted the expression of interest to rejoin the organisation on December 6, 2018, soon after the president assumed office in November 2018.
Maldives was formally re-admitted as the 54th member nation after two assessment visits in January and August 2019, and an elections observation mission in April 2019.
Initially joining the Commonwealth on July 9, 1982, Maldives left after 34 years as a member of the intergovernmental organization.
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