Commonwealth Secretariat team meets with Maldivian media at the Maldives Media Council.

The Commonwealth Secretariat had invited nine Maldivian media to take part in the meeting. The media that took part in today's meeting are One Online, Public Service Media (PSM) and Raajje TV.

Chairperson of One Online Minha Faiz said that the meeting held talks regarding challenges faced by media and operational procedures. She reiterated that there was also discussions regarding the rejoining of Maldives with the Commonwealth.

The Commonwealth Secretariat team is set to meet President Solih, Speaker of Parliament, Qasim Ibrahim, and Chief Justice, Dr. Ahmed Abdulla Didi, on this current visit. In addition to that the team is also set to meet Cabinet members, senior officials of the government, government institutions as well as that of the private sector. They are also set to meet various political parties and media organizations of this country.

While Maldives has already submitted a request to rejoin the Commonwealth, the aim of the current  visit by the Secretariat team is to analyze whether the country fulfills prerequisites. The team will additionally check the preparedness of Maldives yo follow the Commonwealth charter. An aim of the team is to also meet with various senior government officials. The Secretariat team is led by Commonwealth Head Adviser to Asia, Europe, Caribbean and the Pacific, Mr. Albert Mariner.

Maldives had initially joined the Commonwealth in the year 1982. The nations had departed from the Commonwealth after 34 years as a member in 2016. Upon bringing his governance as the leader of this country, President Solih had expressed an interest in rejoining the Commonwealth and submitted an official request.

The Maldivian government is currently working towards making all necessary preparations to ensure that the nation fulfills prerequisites to rejoin the Commonwealth.