Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid said his government was working to restore diplomatic ties with Qatar after the former Maldivian government cut ties in June 2017 following the decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to sever ties with Doha.

The Maldives foreign minister said on Wednesday in response to a question from a member of his parliament that measures had been taken to restore relations between the Maldives and Qatar, and that some time needed to be completed, adding that cutting off relations should be the latest foreign policy solutions, Who are in a state of war, maintain their political relations for many reasons.

The minister criticized the foreign policy martyr of the former government under former president Abdullah Mamoun Abdul Gayoom, saying it had isolated the Maldives on the international scene. The re-establishment of relations between the Maldives and Qatar was one of the electoral pledges of Maldivian President Mohamed Salih, who took power in late 2018.

The newspaper said that the government's decision to cut ties with Doha came following the claims of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain that Qatar supports terrorism, which Doha strongly denied, accusing the three Gulf countries to seek to undermine the independence of the decision in the State of Qatar and interference in its internal affairs.

The former Maldivian government's decision to sever ties with Qatar has been widely criticized by the local public as the government has been accused of succumbing to Saudi influence, which the authorities have repeatedly denied, saying the decision to sever relations would not harm the Maldivian people.