Former Maldives foreign affairs minister Dunya Maumoon on Sunday extended the hand of friendship towards India and said that the trust should be regained between the two countries.

The statement from Maumoon, who is the daughter of former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom came after meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

Taking to Twitter, Maumoon said, "It was such a pleasure to call on my friend HE @SushmaSwaraj to pass on greetings from my father. HE @maumoonagayoom built a warm friendship between our countries while he was in office. We need to regain the trust between our countries."

India-Maldives relations have been strained recently after Male snubbed helicopters and work permit of India.

The rift between the two countries escalated after the Maldives inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan to get help for developing its infrastructure in power sector in July.

The statement from Maumoon came after meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi.

Former Maldives foreign affairs minister Dunya Maumoon on Sunday extended the hand of friendship towards India and said that the trust should be regained between the two countries. The statement from Maumoon, who is the daughter of former President of the Maldives Maumoon Abdul Gayoom came after meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi. Taking to Twitter, Maumoon said, "It was such a pleasure to call on my friend HE @SushmaSwaraj to pass on greetings from my father. HE @maumoonagayoom built a warm friendship between our countries while he was in office. We need to regain the trust between our countries." India-Maldives relations have been strained recently after Male snubbed helicopters and work permit of India. The rift between the two countries escalated after the Maldives inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pakistan to get help for developing its infrastructure in power sector in July.

Need to regain trust between India, Maldives: Ex-foreign minister Dunya Maumoon

Dunya Maumoon, former foreign minister of the Maldives and the daughter of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was in Delhi recently.&nbsp;

She was the first high-profile Maldivian politician to visit India since the recent election&nbsp;in that country. In what was thought of as a surprise, the joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the election by a large margin. He will take office in November.&nbsp;

Over her short visit, Maumoon also met India's India's External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj.&nbsp;

She spoke exclusively to Siddhant Sibal, WION's Principal Diplomatic Correspondent in Delhi. Here are excerpts from their conversation:&nbsp;

 
Siddhant Sibal: What is the focus of your visit? What brings you here? 
Dunya Maumoon: Pleasure to be back in New Delhi. I visited many times as foreign minister and also in past as a close friend of India. As you know my father Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former president of Maldives was the one who was the architect of modern democracy in the Maldives. He developed the country to very high levels. He was instrumental in building a warm friendship with India that was really the basis of the relationship between these two countries. I came here representing my father in informal meetings. I had a number of meetings and in particular was pleased to able to call on her excellency External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. I know her from past and we were colleagues who worked closely on many issues. I believe with the new government coming in the Maldives, it is time to look to rebuild the trust that was there between the two countries in the past. My hope is that when president-elect takes office he will build back trust and close warmth that existed between the two countries. Close people-to-people contact. We are hearing of lot of issues including visa and other matters. I hope we can resolve it and I am confident that the new president can lead us down that path.&nbsp;

 
SS: Can you tell us about developments in your country? 
DM: Whole world has been watching very carefully. As we know, the leadership of President Yameen. While he brought some development, mostly lot of people lived in fear and in an environment of lot of political persecution. Using the court he was able to lock up and convict lot of innocent people under various charges. This included my father who, at his age and given his health, it was a difficult time for him personally. My mother, my family, by brother, my brother-in-law were &nbsp;imprisoned. And many many other political figures with whom he was threatened were put in jail. It was sad to see this kind of situation in our country. We were relieved that Maldivian people's decision is not to condone such kind of behaviour from their leaders and hold them accountable. Hence we saw the Maldivian people decisively voted for democracy, freedom and human rights. I firmly believe that this decision and the will of the people needs to be fully implemented. All our instutions have backed that and supported that. Election commission has formally announced the result. There is huge margin. No room for any discussion and debate on that. Unfortunately President Yameen is a sore and very bad loser. He is refusing to accept it. He has gone to the court. I am confident that justice will be done and will of the people will be upheld.

 
SS: What is your take on the #MeToo movement. You have done a lot of work when it comes to gender issues? 
DM: &nbsp;It's a very important global movement that we see worldwide. Glad to see women particularly victims have found courage to speak up against the discrimination. Also particularly the kind of situations they have to face. It is important we join up with this movement. In my own country, I have worked on anti-domestic violence legislations. Lot more work we do need to do. I hope Maldives will be part of the global movement to promote women's rights and address the issue of violence against women. I wish the movement every success. I'm sure lot of men are supporting women in the quest against serious issues. Important to work together as a region and globally.&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Dunya Maumoon, former foreign minister of the Maldives and the daughter of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was in Delhi recently. She was the first high-profile Maldivian politician to visit India since the recent election in that country.

Dunya Maumoon, former foreign minister of the Maldives and the daughter of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, was in Delhi recently. She was the first high-profile Maldivian politician to visit India since the recent election in that country. In what was thought of as a surprise, the joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the election by a large margin. He will take office in November. Over her short visit, Maumoon also met India's India's External Affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. She spoke exclusively to Siddhant Sibal, WION's Principal Diplomatic Correspondent in Delhi. Here are excerpts from their conversation: Siddhant Sibal: What is the focus of your visit? What brings you here? Dunya Maumoon: Pleasure to be back in New Delhi. I visited many times as foreign minister and also in past as a close friend of India. As you know my father Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the former president of Maldives was the one who was the architect of modern democracy in the Maldives. He developed the country to very high levels. He was instrumental in building a warm friendship with India that was really the basis of the relationship between these two countries. I came here representing my father in informal meetings. I had a number of meetings and in particular was pleased to able to call on her excellency External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. I know her from past and we were colleagues who worked closely on many issues. I believe with the new government coming in the Maldives, it is time to look to rebuild the trust that was there between the two countries in the past. My hope is that when president-elect takes office he will build back trust and close warmth that existed between the two countries. Close people-to-people contact. We are hearing of lot of issues including visa and other matters. I hope we can resolve it and I am confident that the new president can lead us down that path. SS: Can you tell us about developments in your country? DM: Whole world has been watching very carefully. As we know, the leadership of President Yameen. While he brought some development, mostly lot of people lived in fear and in an environment of lot of political persecution. Using the court he was able to lock up and convict lot of innocent people under various charges. This included my father who, at his age and given his health, it was a difficult time for him personally. My mother, my family, by brother, my brother-in-law were imprisoned. And many many other political figures with whom he was threatened were put in jail. It was sad to see this kind of situation in our country. We were relieved that Maldivian people's decision is not to condone such kind of behaviour from their leaders and hold them accountable. Hence we saw the Maldivian people decisively voted for democracy, freedom and human rights. I firmly believe that this decision and the will of the people needs to be fully implemented. All our instutions have backed that and supported that. Election commission has formally announced the result. There is huge margin. No room for any discussion and debate on that. Unfortunately President Yameen is a sore and very bad loser. He is refusing to accept it. He has gone to the court. I am confident that justice will be done and will of the people will be upheld. SS: What is your take on the #MeToo movement. You have done a lot of work when it comes to gender issues? DM: It's a very important global movement that we see worldwide. Glad to see women particularly victims have found courage to speak up against the discrimination. Also particularly the kind of situations they have to face. It is important we join up with this movement. In my own country, I have worked on anti-domestic violence legislations. Lot more work we do need to do. I hope Maldives will be part of the global movement to promote women's rights and address the issue of violence against women. I wish the movement every success. I'm sure lot of men are supporting women in the quest against serious issues. Important to work together as a region and globally.

Time to rebuild trust between our two countries: Ex-Maldives foreign minister to WION

Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, urged the newly-elected government to release her father on the medical ground.

Dunya tweeted, "Good to see you today Bappa @maumoonagayoom &amp; my brother @afarismaumoon. I urge the Home Minister @AzleenAhmed to comply with the recommendation of the medical board and move my father home immediately! #Fatherofthenation."

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Good to see you today Bappa <a href="https://twitter.com/maumoonagayoom?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@maumoonagayoom</a> &amp; my brother <a href="https://twitter.com/afarismaumoon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@afarismaumoon</a>. I urge the Home Minister <a href="https://twitter.com/AzleenAhmed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AzleenAhmed</a> to comply with the recommendation of the medical board and move my father home immediately! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Fatherofthenation?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Fatherofthenation</a> <a href="https://t.co/iLIXheNKpZ">pic.twitter.com/iLIXheNKpZ</a>
— Dunya Maumoon (@dunyamaumoon) <a href="https://twitter.com/dunyamaumoon/status/1045320567753076736?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 27, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

Gayoom is lodged in Maafushi prison and his health has been deteriorating. The 83-year-old was convicted and sentenced for 19 years in June.

The trial was widely seen as a part of a plan of former President Abdulla Yameen to tighten his grip on power ahead of presidential elections on September 24.

Yameen, however, lost the elections to the opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, urged the newly-elected government to release her father on the medical ground. Dunya tweeted, "Good to see you today Bappa @maumoonagayoom & my brother @afarismaumoon.

Dunya Maumoon, the daughter of former Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, urged the newly-elected government to release her father on the medical ground. Dunya tweeted, "Good to see you today Bappa @maumoonagayoom & my brother @afarismaumoon. I urge the Home Minister @AzleenAhmed to comply with the recommendation of the medical board and move my father home immediately! #Fatherofthenation." Good to see you today Bappa @maumoonagayoom & my brother @afarismaumoon. I urge the Home Minister @AzleenAhmed to comply with the recommendation of the medical board and move my father home immediately! #Fatherofthenation pic.twitter.com/iLIXheNKpZ — Dunya Maumoon (@dunyamaumoon) September 27, 2018 × Gayoom is lodged in Maafushi prison and his health has been deteriorating. The 83-year-old was convicted and sentenced for 19 years in June. The trial was widely seen as a part of a plan of former President Abdulla Yameen to tighten his grip on power ahead of presidential elections on September 24. Yameen, however, lost the elections to the opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Dunya urges Maldivian Govt to release father Maumoon Gayoom

The political face-off in the Maldives between President Yameen and his half-brother former President Gayoom has reached its latest flashpoint with foreign minister Dunya Maumoon resigning from her post, hours after her brother and member of Parliament Faarish Maumoon was expelled from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). &nbsp; 
 
This is yet another high-profile loss for the cabinet of President Abdullah Yameen.&nbsp; 
 
Amongst the senior-most Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leaders, Ibrahim Soleih said: &quot;We are watching the situation very closely as there are a lot of developments taking place very rapidly.&quot; 
 
When asked if the MDP would be open to supporting a splinter group of the PPM, led by former President Gayoom, he did not rule out the possibility, and said: &quot;We will take steps in the benefit of the country. We will support anyone who is against corruption and in favour of democracy in the Maldives.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The MDP national executive is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting in a few hours from now and is expected to decide on whether or not to support a splinter group of the PPM led by former President Gayoom. &nbsp; 
 
Meanwhile, sources in the PPM have told WION that President Yameen has found himself increasingly isolated within his own party while &nbsp;support for former President Gayoom has been growing. The latter is understood to still have substantial control over the PPM amid growing unrest within the party over corruption allegations and the ad-hoc decision making style of President Yameen.&nbsp; 
 
Yameen&#39;s isolation within his own party was magnified following the imprisonment of his right hand man and Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb, who was jailed on charges of an assassination attempt on President Yameen and his wife on their way back from Haj last year.&nbsp; 
 
Pertinently, Maumoon is the eleventh member of the government to resign.&nbsp;In the past fortnight itself, home minister Umar Naseer has also resigned.&nbsp; 
 
Gayoom&#39;s move to reject a petition signed by a majority of the PPM council asking him to grant President Yameen the party ticket for the 2018 presidential election without a party primary proved to be the latest flashpoint in the power struggle with his half-brother.&nbsp; 
 
The 82-year-old Gayoom ordered secretary general Mohamed Tholal to seek his permission before calling executive council meetings and later sent a text message to PPM deputy leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla, stripping him of the authority to administer the party. &nbsp; 
 
As WION spoke to Faarish, he said: &quot;Yes, things are very strained. The issues we face are national issues. However, at this stage, we are still trying to address these by internal party reforms. But things are moving at an alarming pace.&quot; 
 
Calls to Ahmed Nihaan, PPM Member of Parliament, and house majority leader went unanswered.&nbsp; 
 
(With inputs from Royden D&#39;Souza) 
 
&nbsp;

Dunya Maumoon is the eleventh member of the government to resign, putting President Yameen in a critical situation

The political face-off in the Maldives between President Yameen and his half-brother former President Gayoom has reached its latest flashpoint with foreign minister Dunya Maumoon resigning from her post, hours after her brother and member of Parliament Faarish Maumoon was expelled from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM). This is yet another high-profile loss for the cabinet of President Abdullah Yameen. Amongst the senior-most Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leaders, Ibrahim Soleih said: "We are watching the situation very closely as there are a lot of developments taking place very rapidly." When asked if the MDP would be open to supporting a splinter group of the PPM, led by former President Gayoom, he did not rule out the possibility, and said: "We will take steps in the benefit of the country. We will support anyone who is against corruption and in favour of democracy in the Maldives." The MDP national executive is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting in a few hours from now and is expected to decide on whether or not to support a splinter group of the PPM led by former President Gayoom. Meanwhile, sources in the PPM have told WION that President Yameen has found himself increasingly isolated within his own party while support for former President Gayoom has been growing. The latter is understood to still have substantial control over the PPM amid growing unrest within the party over corruption allegations and the ad-hoc decision making style of President Yameen. Yameen's isolation within his own party was magnified following the imprisonment of his right hand man and Vice-President Ahmed Adeeb, who was jailed on charges of an assassination attempt on President Yameen and his wife on their way back from Haj last year. Pertinently, Maumoon is the eleventh member of the government to resign. In the past fortnight itself, home minister Umar Naseer has also resigned. Gayoom's move to reject a petition signed by a majority of the PPM council asking him to grant President Yameen the party ticket for the 2018 presidential election without a party primary proved to be the latest flashpoint in the power struggle with his half-brother. The 82-year-old Gayoom ordered secretary general Mohamed Tholal to seek his permission before calling executive council meetings and later sent a text message to PPM deputy leader Abdul Raheem Abdulla, stripping him of the authority to administer the party. As WION spoke to Faarish, he said: "Yes, things are very strained. The issues we face are national issues. However, at this stage, we are still trying to address these by internal party reforms. But things are moving at an alarming pace." Calls to Ahmed Nihaan, PPM Member of Parliament, and house majority leader went unanswered. (With inputs from Royden D'Souza)

Maldives opposition 'open' to support former President Gayoom in regime change

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Need to regain trust between India, Maldives: Ex-foreign minister Dunya Maumoon

Time to rebuild trust between our two countries: Ex-Maldives foreign minister to WION

Dunya urges Maldivian Govt to release father Maumoon Gayoom

Maldives opposition 'open' to support former President Gayoom in regime change