Parliament OK's appointment of non-resident ambassadors, permanent representatives

Parliament, on Tuesday, has approved the appointment of several incumbent Maldivian envoys as non-resident ambassadors to additional nations and as permanent representatives to international organizations.

The envoys were nominated for the posts by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu last week. 

Foreign Relations Committee approved their appointment as nominated on Thursday.

The final floor vote on their appointment was held during Tuesday’s parliamentary sitting.

In this regard, the current permanent representative of the Maldives to the United Nations in Geneva Dr. Salma Rasheed was approved as the permanent representative of Maldives to the World Trade Organization (WTO) with unanimous votes of 72 MPs in attendance. Her appointment as the non-resident ambassador of Maldives to Switzerland was approved with the unanimous votes of 74 MPs in attendance.

Current Maldivian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ahmed Sareer was approved as the permanent representative of the Maldives to the Organization of Islamic Corporation (OIC) with the unanimous votes of 74 MPs in attendance. His appointment as the non-resident ambassador of Maldives to Egypt and Kuwait was approved with the unanimous votes of 71 MPs and 73 MPs in attendance respectively.

Current Maldivian ambassador to the US Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed was approved as the non-resident ambassador to Canada with the votes of 71 MPs in attendance.

 Current Ambassador of Maldives to Bangladesh Shiuneen Rasheed was approved as the non-resident ambassador to Bhutan with the votes of 72 MPs in attendance.

Notably, President Muizzu sought parliamentary approval to appoint four incumbent ambassadors as non-resident ambassadors to an additional five countries on Monday. The matter is presently being reviewed by the Foreign Relations Committee.