Senior UN political official in Maldives

United Nations Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs, Miroslav Jenča, arrived in the Maldives on an official visit on Thursday.

Announcing his arrival, the foreign ministry said during the visit 'he will meet key Government officials and other political stakeholders'.

United Nations, via its official twitter account in Maldives, said that the assistant secretary-general is to meet with President Abdulla Yameen and officials from the government, as well as political party representatives 'to support confidence-building and a conducive environment ahead of the 23 September presidential elections.

After arriving in capital Malé City, Jenča called on Foreign Minister Dr. Mohamed Asim and held discussions 'on the Maldives' engagement with the UN and ways to strengthen collaboration between Maldives and UN'.

His visit comes on the heels of two back to back visits by a delegation from United Nations Department of Political Affairs Asia Division in July.

While the second delegation met with opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) officials in late July, they met with fisheries minister Dr. Mohamed Shainee earlier this month.

A delegation from the department also visited the Maldives back in March, following the turmoil in the country due to the controversial ruling by the Supreme Court on February 1.

It had called on the government to lift the state of emergency, repeating call on the government and opposition to hold dialogue, in order to resolve the issues within the country, even offering to be a mediator in the process.

While Hindustan Times, citing UN spokesperson Farhan Haq, had reported that the Maldivian authorities had turned down the UN’s offer for mediation, Minister Shainee refuted this, saying that President Abdulla Yameen 'has not rejected UN’s role in all-party talks'.

Instead, Shainee noted that 'UN participation is a request by the President himself,' accusing the opposition of 'blocking' the talks.