Cameron meets Nasheed in UK

United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, David Cameron has held a meeting with the jailed former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, at Downing Street on Saturday.

The former president, who was temporarily released from prison to allow him to travel to London for surgery, thanked the Prime Minister for his support, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.

The British Prime Minister agreed that while Nasheed’s release was a positive step, more needed to be done and it was important for the Maldivian government to maintain momentum, which was necessary if real change is to be delivered.

Looking ahead to the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group visit to the Maldives next month, the Prime Minister and Nasheed agreed this was an opportunity for all Commonwealth members to send a consistently strong message on the need for the Maldivian government to engage in open political dialogue and free all remaining political prisoners swiftly.

Finally, the Prime Minister told Nasheed that the UK would continue to raise concerns about the erosion of democracy and wider situation in the Maldives and it would also continue to discuss the situation with international partners, including how best the international community can make its concerns clear to the Maldivian government.

Nasheed, who is serving a 13-year jail sentence on terror charges, visited Colombo on his way to London. The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and the Maldives James Dauris, met with the former president  in Colombo.