Opposition MPs Boycott Meeting with UNGA President

Opposition parliamentarians have chosen to boycott the meeting with Abdulla Shahid; Minister of Foreign Affairs; who is currently visiting the Maldives as the President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Shahid met with senior members of the Citizen's Majlis and Eva Abdulla, the acting Speaker in former President Mohamed Nasheed's absence. However, opposition parliamentarians had decided to boycott the meeting, as confirmed by MP Mohamed Saeed (Maavah), leader of the opposition parliamentary group.

Speaking with Dhiyares; the sister-newspaper of The Maldives Journal; Adam Shareef, former Minister of Defence, said that the purpose of the boycott was to protest Foreign Minister Shahid's complicity in entering into treaties that put national sovereignty at risk, and to protest the "injustice" being done on the Opposition's leader, former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom. Former President Yameen is currently serving a 5-year prison sentence.

Foreign Minister Shahid, who also serves as the President of the United Nations' General Assembly, had accepted President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's invitation to the UNGA President to visit the Maldives. Shahid arrived in the Maldives this morning.

A red carpet had been rolled to welcome the visiting President of the United Nations General Assembly.

Shahid also signed the guestbook at the President's Office.

It is noteworthy that Shahid had called for an Indian military invasion of the Maldives during the Yameen administration.