Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Joint Opposition presidential candidate, has vowed to renew diplomatic relations with Qatar and Iran as well as rejoin the Commonwealth.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s Ibu (Solih’s nickname) show, Solih said that the current administration’s decision to leave the Commonwealth and cut ties with Iran and Qatar has been disastrous for students and the youth.

Solih noted that the government had always released statements assuring the public that there are no diplomatic rifts days before the country severs its ties and that President Abdulla Yameen’s foreign policy is further isolating Maldives.

He said that now Maldives communicates with only two countries and might have only one left in the near future.

The Maldives government left the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016 after the association said it would suspend Maldives if the political situation in the country does not improve.

The government severed ties with Iran and Qatar after Saudi Arabia did the same.