President Waheed returns to Maldives following US visit

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan yesterday returned to the Maldives with First Lady Madam Ilham Hussain after concluding a visit to the US.

The president, who has been in the US since late last month when he spoke during the meeting of the 67th UN General Assembly, was met upon his return by Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen.

During an address to the UN General Assembly last month, President Waheed said his government’s dealings with powerful international actors since coming to office during February’s controversial transfer of power had “not been pleasant”.

“We believe that the story of the Maldives needs to be told. It is a lesson to be learnt by other small states. The application of the rule of law is to protect the smaller and the weaker; to prevent small justice being served to small states,” said the president at the time.

The comments were made at a high level meeting designed to reaffirm global commitment to the rule of law in order to further the UN’s goals of international peace, human rights, and development.

During the visit, Waheed also attended a Commonwealth’s Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) meeting that saw the country’s suspension from the international body’s democracy and human rights arm revoked.  However, the Maldives has remained on the body’s agenda under the item “Matters of Interest to CMAG”.