President says hope to enhance Maldives-UK relations under Sunak

Maldives president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Monday said he hoped to enhance the relationship between the Maldives and UK under the premiership of Rishi Sunak, 

Sunak will become Britain's next prime minister after he won the race to lead the Conservative Party, leaving him with the task of steering a deeply divided country through an economic downturn set to leave millions of people poorer.

Sunak, one of the wealthiest politicians in Westminster and set to be the country's first leader of colour, will be asked to form a government by King Charles, replacing Liz Truss, the outgoing leader who only lasted 44 days in the job before she resigned.

He defeated centrist politician Penny Mordaunt, who failed to get enough backing from lawmakers to enter the ballot, while his rival, the former prime minister Boris Johnson, withdrew from the contest saying he could no longer unite the party.

In a tweet, President Solih congratulated Sunak and wished him success on "delivering his vision for the UK".

"I also look forward to working together on global issues of mutual concern as well as enhance Maldives-UK relations," the tweet read.

Sunak, the 42-year-old former finance minister, becomes Britain's third prime minister in less than two months, tasked with restoring stability to a country reeling from years of political and economic turmoil.

The multi-millionaire former hedge fund boss will be expected to launch deep spending cuts to try to rebuild Britain's fiscal reputation, just as the country slides into a recession, dragged down by the surging cost of energy and food.

He will also inherit a political party that has fractured along ideological lines, a challenge that damaged the fortunes of several former Conservative leaders.