Editing Maldives (section)

===Foreign relations===
{{main|Foreign relations of the Maldives}}
Since 1996, the Maldives has been the official progress monitor of the [[Indian Ocean Commission]]. In 2002, the Maldives began to express interest in the commission but {{As of|2008|lc=y}} had not applied for membership. Maldives' interest relates to its identity as a small island state, especially economic development and environmental preservation, and its desire for closer relations with France, a main actor in the IOC region.

The Maldives is a founding member of the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]] ([[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation|SAARC]]). The republic joined the Commonwealth in 1982, some 17 years after gaining independence from the United Kingdom. In October 2016, the Maldives announced its withdrawal from the Commonwealth<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 October 2016 |title=Secretary-General statement on Maldives decision to leave the Commonwealth |url=https://thecommonwealth.org/news/secretary-general-statement-maldives-decision-leave-commonwealth |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200517085315/https://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/secretary-general-statement-maldives-decision-leave-commonwealth |archive-date=17 May 2020 |access-date=18 May 2024 |website=The Commonwealth}}</ref> in protest at allegations of human rights abuse and failing democracy.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/13/maldives-quits-commonwealth-over-alleged-rights-abuses Maldives quits Commonwealth over alleged rights abuses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013143856/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/13/maldives-quits-commonwealth-over-alleged-rights-abuses |date=13 October 2016 }}, ''[[The Guardian]]'', 13 October 2016</ref> The Maldives enjoys close ties with Commonwealth members [[Seychelles]] and [[Mauritius]]. The Maldives and [[Comoros]] are also both members of the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]]. Following his election as president in 2018, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and his Cabinet decided that the Maldives would apply to rejoin the Commonwealth,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The President's Office |url=https://presidency.gov.mv/presidentNews/news/10346 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121161727/https://presidency.gov.mv/presidentNews/news/10346 |archive-date=21 November 2018 |access-date=26 November 2018}}</ref> with readmission occurring on 1 February 2020.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 February 2020 |title=Maldives rejoins Commonwealth after evidence of reforms |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/01/maldives-rejoins-commonwealth-after-evidence-of-reforms |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418002056/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/01/maldives-rejoins-commonwealth-after-evidence-of-reforms |archive-date=18 April 2020 |access-date=4 February 2020 |work=[[The Guardian]] |agency=[[PA Media]]}}</ref>

As a result of sanctions imposed upon the [[Russian oligarchs]] by the West in response to [[Russia]]'s [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|invasion of Ukraine]] in February 2022, many of them sought refuge for their mega-yachts in the Maldives due to the absence of an extradition treaty with the United States and other countries.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Oltermann |first=Peter |date=3 March 2022 |title=Germany seizes Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov's $600m superyacht - report |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/germany-seizes-russian-billionaire-alisher-usmanovs-600m-superyacht-report |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220303014906/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/03/germany-seizes-russian-billionaire-alisher-usmanovs-600m-superyacht-report |archive-date=3 March 2022 |access-date=3 March 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |location=London}}</ref>

Following a cabinet meeting, in June 2024, the government of the Maldives decided to ban [[Israeli passport]] holders from entering the country, as a response to the ongoing [[Gaza war]].<ref>{{cite news |title=The Government decides to impose a ban on Israeli passports |url=https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/30948 |access-date=2 June 2024 |agency=The President's Office |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240603105516/https://presidency.gov.mv/Press/Article/30948 |archive-date=3 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Maldives bans Israeli passport holders over war on Gaza |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/2/maldives-bans-israeli-passport-holders-from-entering-the-country |access-date=2 June 2024 |agency=[[Al Jazeera English]] |archive-date=2 June 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602195306/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/2/maldives-bans-israeli-passport-holders-from-entering-the-country |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Maldives to ban Israeli passport holders from entry in protest over Gaza war |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/jun/03/maldives-israel-passport-holders-ban-gaza-war |access-date=3 June 2024 |agency=The Guardian}}</ref>