Former Foreign Minister and seasoned diplomat Dr. Ahmed Shaheed has praised the speech delivered by the Speaker of the People's Majlis, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, and the efforts of the parliamentary delegation at the 152nd Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) held in Turkey this month.

In a social media post, Shaheed stated that Speaker Abdul Raheem received the opportunity to address the IPU Assembly, held from the 15th to the 19th of this month, at a time when the hall was filled with tension.

However, Shaheed noted that the Speaker spoke calmly and at an easy-to-follow pace. The tension at the IPU session had arisen when the Iranian delegation responded to remarks made by diplomats from certain Gulf nations.

Shaheed remarked that during that difficult moment, Abdul Raheem spoke in a manner that perfectly aligned with the interests of the Maldives and the long-standing foreign policy of the country.

Most notably, he pointed out that the Speaker’s remarks regarding the ongoing war in the Gulf were consistent with the UN Charter and international humanitarian law.

"As a diplomat who is either former or on the path of returning to public life, I was very pleased that the Speaker of the People's Majlis delivered a speech that was 100 percent consistent with the foreign policy established by the Maldives; an experienced Maldivian diplomat could easily have done that," Shaheed said in his Facebook post.

Shaheed mentioned that since he had to leave the hall before he could speak with Abdul Raheem, he contacted him later. He expressed surprise that the Speaker agreed to meet him immediately upon being contacted.

"I wanted to thank him for the speech he delivered, which was so well-aligned with the interests of the Maldives. It does not matter who is in government or which branch of the state is speaking; what exists is 'Maldives,' acting in accordance with the national interest," Shaheed said.

In his post, Shaheed praised the entire parliamentary delegation in addition to Abdul Raheem. He specifically highlighted the work of the PNC Member for the Nilandhoo constituency, Fathimath Saudha.

Shaheed noted that during a panel discussion on resolving the Middle East issue, specifically the two-state solution involving Palestine and Israel, which was the most tense topic of the IPU Assembly, Saudha spoke in direct alignment with the policy previously expressed by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom at the UN General Assembly.

"I was surprised to see Saudha waiting to speak with an individual who had criticized the remarks made by everyone else," Shaheed said.