Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what discussions will take place at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in Malta about the recent state of emergency declared in the Maldives.

On 10 November the Maldivian government lifted the State of Emergency. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire) welcomed the announcement.

On 11 November the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) and Mr Swire met Kamalesh Sharma, the Commonwealth Secretary General. The Prime Minister urged the Secretary General to use the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and in particular the meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, to highlight the situation in the Maldives and to support the process of restoring democracy and the rule of law.