Parliament committee approves appointment of ambassadors to 8 regions

Ambassadors nominated by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to eight regions have had their names approved for appointment by the Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

While the Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee has been engaged in a lengthy review process for the names nominated as ambassadors by President Dr. Muizzu, the committee meeting held on Tuesday concluded with the approval of ambassadors to 8 regions as designated by the President, with a majority vote.

Ambassador nominations approved by the Committee

1. Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu) - United Arab Emirates

2. Iruthisham Adam - United Kingdom

3. Ali Naseer Mohamed (Aliny) - United Nations

4. Masood Imad - Sri Lanka

5. Mariyam Shabeena Ahmed - Malaysia

6. Geela Ali - Belgium and the European Union

7. Mohamed Luweiz - Singapore

8. Dr. Salma Rasheed - Geneva

In addition to this, the parliament's Foreign Relations Committee is also reviewing the names of Dr. Fazeel Najeeb for the Maldives' Ambassador to China, and Shiuneen Rasheed as the Ambassador to Bangladesh.

Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and Henveiru Dhekunu MP Hussain Shaheem (Andhun Hussain) stated that interviews for Dr. Fazeel and Shiuneen could not be conducted as the committee has not received documents related to their nomination from the courts.

MP Hussain also stated that once the documents will be received from the court, the nominees would be interviewed by the committee. He added that announcing a decision on approving their nominations would be scheduled as soon as the procedures were complete.

Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), approved as Ambassador to the UAE as nominated by President Dr Muizzu, formerly served as the Maldives' Ambassador to Japan under the government of former president Abdulla Yameen.

Iruthisham Adam, approved as Ambassador to the UK, formerly served as Minister of Youth.

Ali Naseer Mohamed (Aliny), who was approved as the Maldives' permanent representative to the UN, formerly served as the Foreign Secretary for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was most recently appointed as the Ambassador at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), Iruthisham Adam and Ali Naseer Mohamed (Aliny) have all contributed to the Maldives' foreign relations over the course of many years.

Masood Imad, President Dr Muizzu's now-approved nomination for the ambassador to Sri Lanka, was the Press Secretary under the government of former President Dr. Mohamed Waheed.

Geela Ali, nominated and approved as the Maldives' Ambassador to Belgium and the EU, formerly served as the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Health.

Dr. Salma Rasheed, nominated by President Dr Muizzu and approved by the Parliament as the Maldives' Permanent Representative in Geneva, is the younger sister of MP-elect for Central Maafannu constituency Asma Rasheed. She is the aunt of Mohamed Hussain Shareef (Mundhu), who was approved as the Ambassador to the UAE.

Luweiz, who was nominated and approved as the Maldives' Ambassador to Singapore, was the Minister of State for Economic Relations and a member of the Economic and Youth Council under the government of former president Abdulla Yameen. Luweiz also formerly served on the council of the Maldives National University.