Commonwealth
The Commonwealth, headquartered in London, United Kingdom, comprises 56 Member States working towards shared values and norms enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter. His Majesty King Charles III serves as the Head of the Commonwealth and the Honourable Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey of Ghana assumed office as Secretary General of the Commonwealth on 1 April 2025.
Leaders of the Commonwealth countries meet every two years for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), hosted by different Member States on a rotational basis. The Commonwealth Foreign Ministers meet annually to discuss responses to shared challenges, while Ministerial meetings across various sectors are convened throughout the year. Notably, the inaugural meeting of Commonwealth Youth Ministers was held in the Maldives in 1992.
Commonwealth Day is observed on the second Monday of March every year and serves as an opportunity amongst Member States to celebrate shared values and diversity.
The Maldives joined the Commonwealth, initially as a Special Member on 9 July 1982, and then became a full member on 20 June 1985. The Maldives withdrew its membership from the Commonwealth on 13 October 2016. The Maldives then rejoined the Commonwealth as its 54th Member State on 1 February 2020.
Since becoming a full member in 1985, the Commonwealth has supported the Maldives through capacity building initiatives across a range of sectors, including education, climate change, gender equality, health, good governance and institutional development.
The Maldives has been an active participant in the work of the Commonwealth, namely the Commonwealth Youth Programme, Commonwealth Foundation, and the Commonwealth of Learning. The Maldives also served on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) from 2009 to 2013.
The Maldives is a co-champion of the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Sustainable Coastal Fisheries and a members of the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Alliance and the Commonwealth Blue Charter Action Group on Mangrove Ecosystems and Livelihoods.
In 2026, the Maldives, together with Antigua and Barbuda, will co-chair the Commonwealth’s Ministerial Meeting on Small States (CMMSS. In this role, the Maldives will continue to advocate for the interests of Small States, further strengthening its efforts to advance the priorities of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) on the global stage.