Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih today (May 4) confirmed his nation’s support for Jamaica’s candidate for the post of Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, ahead of next month’s election in Kigali, Rwanda.

In a release, Solih confirmed the Maldives’ support for her candidacy during a phone call with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

According to the release, posted on the website of the Maldive’s president’s office, Solih said Johnson Smith was the most qualified candidate due to her extensive experience and background.

“In his conversation [with Holness], the President noted that Maldives affirms our support for Ms Johnson’s candidacy without hesitation and expressed his confidence that Maldives and other SIDS would be well represented at the Commonwealth under Ms Johnson Smith’s tenure,” stated the release.

“Additionally, the two leaders touched upon the close bilateral relationship between the two nations, with President Solih extending an open invitation to the prime minister to undertake a visit to the Maldives at a mutually convenient time.”

Johnson Smith is Jamaica’s first female minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade and previously served as chair of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), president of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS), and the CARICOM Council on Trade and Development.

She currently serves as coordinator of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) Group at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva.

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