Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas arrives in Maldives

Palestinian President and Chairman of Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Mahmoud Abbas has arrived in the Maldives.

Upon arrival at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, President Abbas was greeted by President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik. They proceeded to the designated rostrum and the national anthems of the two countries were played.

President Abbas then inspected a guard of honour by Maldives National Defence Force, before proceeding to the Airport VVIP Lounge.

President Abbas is in Maldives on a two-day state visit after spending two days in Sri Lanka.

During his visit to Sri Lanka, he held discussions with the Sri Lankan government regarding their support for an independent Palestinian state.

Abbas emerged as a Palestinian politician in 2003 when the United States and Israel refused to negotiate with Yasser Arafat, and was appointed Prime Minister on 19 March 2003 by Arafat as a result of pressure from the West.

However Abbas was not given much power, which prompted more pressure from the West forcing Arafat to give him some degree of power. A large portion of Abbas’s term as Prime Minister was defined by conflicts between him and Arafat over distribution of power.

Huge conflicts have taken place between Palestinian militant group Hamas, and Fatah represented by Abbas.