Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has concluded his trip to attend the 10th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS).

The Foreign Minister returned home on Sunday.

FM Shahid departed for Angola on Wednesday evening, as President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s special envoy.

He led a delegation of high-level government officials at the summit, held in Luanda, Angola.

The visit saw FM Shahid delivering the Maldives’ national statement at the 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the OACPS.

In his statement, FM Shahid stated that Maldivian government remains committed to work with the OACPS to address shared challenges.

Expressing pride that the archipelago nation has become a full member of the OACPS, FM Shahid highlighted that it was a historic day, as the African nations have extended their hands and embraced the Maldives and included them in the OACPS family.

Highlighting that the common values, hopes for a fairer, just and peaceful world as well as shared challenges have bound us together, FM Shahid noted that our similarity surpasses oceans. As such, he said that as a small island developing state, Maldives sought a group of countries who acknowledged its "special" situation.

He stated that Maldives wanted to move closer to those who were willing to lend it a helping hand, as a vulnerable nation, which he said is why the island nation’s decision to apply for full membership “only felt natural”.

FM Shahid assured that the Maldives is ready to engage now that it has become a full member of the OACPS.

Going on to note that Maldives did not become a member to reap the benefits, FM Shahid assured that the island nation is ready to share its experiences and have a compelling story that elevated the island nation from being the sixth poorest country in the world at independence in 1965, to just the third country to graduate towards becoming a middle-income country in 2011.

He said that the Maldives is a country that continues to steer through the dire global economic situation, despite its inherent vulnerabilities.

FM Shahid assured that Maldives will contribute and work to achieve the shared objectives, as a constructive and reliable partner.

Highlighting that Maldives intends to “hit the ground running”, FM Shahid touched upon the Georgetown Agreement signed on Friday, adding that the Maldives will take steps to accede to the Cotonou Agreement without delay.

Further, he said that he envisions the OACPS playing a leading role in finding solutions to the shared challenges.

The Maldivian minister added that the destinies of OACPS and the Maldives are “inseparably linked”, despite being oceans apart.

He also deposited the Instrument of Accession to the Revised Georgetown Agreement of the OACPS at a ceremony held on Friday, on the sidelines of the summit, with which Maldives has been accorded full membership at the OACPS.

The island nation has been accorded full membership at the OACPS, months after being given the "Observer Status" back in June this.

All member states of the organization recently supported the island nation’s application for full membership during the Council of Ministers Meeting held in Brussels, Belgium, from November 27 – 28.

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.

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.

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.

Following his return, the foreign minister joined President Solih on a trip to Faresmaathoda island in Gaaf Dhaal atoll, to join the festivities of the National Fishermen’s Day.