Caron Röhsler, the new and first-ever British Ambassador to Maldives is set to present her credentials to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on 30 October.

Appointed in July in succession to non-resident Ambassador to Maldives James Dauris, Röhsler is set to discuss the United Kingdom’s diplomatic relationship with Maldives with the President on Wednesday.

While the government of UK is also set to open a new Resident Embassy in Malé, a press release reveals that the establishment of this post is a signal of the UK’s intention to “deepen” the strong ties shared between both countries as well as to work together, “even more closely” on global issues of mutual interest.

With the establishment of the embassy, UK will be able to develop a “deeper understanding” of Maldives in general.

The Resident Embassy will mainly focus on supporting democracy including the country’s re-admission to the Commonwealth of Nations in 2020 as well as to assist in strengthening democratic institutions and processes.

Further, the embassy will also be working to support environment issues, climate change and co-host the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 26) to the UNFCCC, in November 2021, to take place in Glasgow.

Other areas the embassy will focus on include addressing regional as well as domestic security challenges in Maldives and working together on global issues of mutual concern, especially media freedom.

Announcing her arrival, the new ambassador highlighted that the government of UK is leading a global campaign along with the government of Canada, revolving around defending media freedom.

She added that a conference was held in July where 32 governments, including the Maldivian government, signed up to join the new Media Freedom Coalition.

Röhsler went on to express her interest in learning about media in Maldives.