Maumoon: Cannot resolve issues in isolation

President of PPM and the former President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has said that being in isolation is not a way to resolve issues.

The former President made the remark on Twitter yesterday following the government’s decision to leave the Commonwealth.

As someone who led Maldives into Commonwealth 34 years ago, I am disappointed that we have left. Isolation will not solve our problems.

— Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (@maumoonagayoom) October 13, 2016

Commonwealth Secretary General, Patricia Scotland said in her statement yesterday that the news of the decision to leave the Commonwealth by the Maldives was received with sadness and disappointment and hopes that it is a temporary separation.

Statement announcing the decision to leave Commonwealth was read by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohamed Asim said that it had been a difficult decision to make, but one which had been necessary in order to protect the independence and sovereignty of the country.

It accused Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) of unfairly singling out Maldives for unfair treatment, despite the situation in Maldives being judged to be considerably better by other international organizations compared to some other Commonwealth member countries.