British minister and ambassador in Maldives; meets with president-elect and government officials

United Kingdom’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office Minister for Asia and the Pacific, MP Mark Field arrived in the Maldives on Sunday, along with Ambassador to Maldives James Dauris.

They arrived on Sunday morning, and were welcomed at Velana International Airport by Foreign Secretary Ahmed Sareer.

MP Field met with foreign minister Dr. Mohamed Asim and Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh in the morning.

While the foreign ministry noted that both ministers had discussed on ‘strengthening the bilateral relations between Maldives and the UK’, in a tweet sent out after MP Field stated that UK looks forward ‘to a smooth transition to the new government and to parliament flourishing’.

The delegation also called on President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, to congratulate him on his ‘decisive election victory’.

“We talked about how the UK can work with the incoming government to strengthen human rights and democracy in Maldives,” said MP Field.

Ambassador Dauris commended the president-elect for ‘the work already being done to prepare for and ensure a smooth transition of power to the new government’.

The senior UK delegation is also expected to meet with lawyers and members of the civil society.

While the European Union has passed a framework for sanctions against human rights abusers in the Maldives, Ambassador Dauris had in an exclusive interview to RaajjeTV back in September, stated that it will depend on how the presidential election is conducted.

The September 23 election has been deemed ‘free, fair and transparent’ by local and international observers.