Maldives has become a full member of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).
As such, the OACPS accorded the archipelago nation as its newest full member, on Friday.
Members states of OACPS endorsed the decision to accept the application from the government of Maldives, to become a full member of the organization at the 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of OACPS in Luanda, Angola.
The summit was held from December 6 – 9.
Maldives became the newest member of OACPS with unanimous support from all its member states. The island nation is the 80th member of OACPS.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid is leading the delegation of senior government officials at the summit, as the Special Envoy of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Maldives acceded to the Revised Georgetown Agreement of the OACPS, which outlines all the obligations required of its member states, following membership endorsement.
FM Shahid deposited the Instrument of Accession at a ceremony held on Friday, on the sidelines of the summit.
Maldives applied to become a full member of OACPS in November 2021, following which the People's Majlis approved the application bid on 23 March 2022.
The OACPS granted the Maldives "Observer Status" in June 2022.
Joining the OACPS would pave the path for more opportunities to strengthen the diplomatic bonds with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries.
It would also allow Maldives to play a larger role in international forums on issues of national interest, such as climate change and environmental issues and allow more opportunities to secure funding for development projects.
Further, joining the organization would help Maldives to improve corporation with OACPS and the European Union (EU) institutions and enhance more opportunities for the country. Negotiations on the prices of Maldivian fish exports would be made easier and this would also ease the process of obtaining Schengen visas for Maldivians.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih sought approval from the People’s Majlis to join OACPS in January 2022. The parliament approved the bid with the votes of 29 lawmakers.
