Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has returned back to the Maldives after concluding his visit to Luanda, Angola to attend the 10th Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS). He attended the summit from December 6-9 as the President's Special Envoy accompanied by a high-level government delegation.
During the visit, Minister Shahid delivered the national statement of the Maldives and also deposited the Instrument of Accession at a ceremony of the Revised Georgetown Agreement of the OACPS. The organisation endorsed the decision to accept the application from the Maldives to become a full member.
The Maldives applied to become a full member of OACPS in November 2021. The Parliament approved the application bid of Maldives on March 23, 2022. The OACPS then granted the Maldives Observer Status in June 2022.
Formed in 1975, OACPS is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that represents over 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations (UN).