The United States has rejected the visa application of Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, who was due to represent the Maldives at a United Nations high-level conference on the Israeli-Palestinian issue.
Shaheem was scheduled to attend the “High-Level Conference on the Two-State Solution for Israel and Palestine” held in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday. According to local media reports, his visa application through the US Embassy in Sri Lanka was denied, and the embassy did not provide a reason for the rejection.
Both Shaheem and the Maldivian government have yet to comment publicly on the matter. Normally, when a US visa application is refused, the embassy provides a reason; however, rejections without explanation can be linked to a variety of factors, including being on watchlists monitored by the United States.
Due to the denial, the Maldives was represented at the conference by the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ali Naseer Mohamed.
The conference, co-chaired by the foreign ministers of France and Saudi Arabia, was convened under UN General Assembly Resolution 79/81. It aims to advance the implementation of UN resolutions on the Palestinian question and the two-state solution.
The development comes amid criticism of Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel by opposition leader and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson Fayyaz Ismail, who expressed disappointment that Khaleel did not personally attend the conference. Fayyaz said the absence of senior Maldivian leadership at the event “sends a concerning message” about the country’s priorities regarding support for Palestine.
Khaleel has maintained that the Maldives’ participation in the conference demonstrates its unwavering support for a just and lasting peace in the region.