Commonwealth delegation to visit Maldives from tomorrow

A Commonwealth ministerial group that includes Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar will visit Male from tomorrow to send a strong message to the Maldivian government on the need for political dialogue with all stakeholders and build strong democratic institutions.
TheCommonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) will beled by its Vice-Chair, Guyana's Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge.
British Prime Minister David Cameron last month had asked the Maldives to open up its politics and release all remaining political prisoners after his meeting former jailed president Mohamed Nasheed, who was granted special leave for urgent spinal cord surgery in the UK.

"Looking ahead to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group visit to the Maldives next month, the prime minister and Mr Nasheed agreed this was an opportunity for all Commonwealth members to send a consistently strong message on the need for the Maldivian government to engage in open political dialogue and free all remaining political prisoners swiftly," a Downing Street spokesman had said.
Besides Jaishankar, the Commonwealth delegation includes Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed.
CMAG is a political body comprising nine foreign ministers.

It acts on behalf of Commonwealth Heads of Government as the custodian of the Commonwealth's fundamental political values including democracy, the rule of law and human rights.

Commonwealth Secretariat spokesperson Will Henley said the purpose of the three-day CMAG mission is to reach out to Maldives in a "positive way".
"The mission is aiming to develop a first-hand understanding of the situation on the ground and to consider how the Commonwealth can continue to assist in advancing Commonwealth values and principles, and to support Maldives in building stronger democratic institutions and culture," Henley said.
Nasheed, 48, became the first democratically-elected president of the Maldives in 2008 and served for four years before he was toppled in what he called a coup backed by the military and police. He was sentenced to 13 years in jail on terrorism charges relating to the arrest of an alleged corrupt judge in 2012, when he was still in power.