President Abdulla Yameen has urged a visiting Saudi Arabian trade delegation to invest in the Maldives “to get warmed up” for paradise in the afterlife.
“As Muslim brothers, we all strive to go to Jannathul Firdous [paradise]. While we have a paradise in the heavenly Maldives, I urge all Saudi business people, if you are seeking to go to Jannathul-paradise in your afterlife, why don’t you get warmed up for that? Paradise is here in the Maldives,” Yameen said at a briefing this morning at Traders Hotel.
The 16 member contingent is the first Saudi business delegation to visit the Maldives. It consists of seven Saudi government officials and representatives from the private sector .
Noting existing Middle-Eastern investments in the telecoms, transport and tourism sector, Yameen invited Saudi Arabia to further invest in the energy sector, including renewable energy, real estate sectors and in developing an Islamic Financial Center in the Maldives.
The government’s landmark Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act provides a modern legal framework to engage with investors on strategic projects, the president said.
The SEZ Act ensures investment guarantees and protection in line with international best practices, he claimed.
Since the SEZ Act’s enactment, the government has attracted substantive investor interest in several mega projects including the development of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, the development and relocation of Malé port and the youth city in Hulhumalé, he continued.
“With a positive outlook for economic growth, coupled with assured political stability and a liberal investment regime, there is no better time to invest here in the Maldives than now.”
Islamic Minister Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed noted Saudi Arabia’s aid to the Maldives in the construction of an Islamic college and mosques, but said closer trade ties are essential to further strengthen relations.
“Maldives does not just want Islamic projects, but wants investment from Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries,” he said.
The trade delegation arrived in the Maldives on Wednesday after a request made to the Saudi King by President Yameen.
Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Minister for Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Dr Abdullah A. Al-Obaid, yesterday said the visit signifies his country’s intention to enhance the bilateral relationship through trade, investment, and Islamic affairs.
“We are so proud to hear that Maldives is keeping with its Aqeeda [faith], its religion and trying to stick with it even though we have globalism effecting all countries,” he said.
In October, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud donated US$1.2 million to a mosque project, with further plans to build 10 new mosques in the islands.
He had visited the Maldives in February to discuss potential investments and partnerships in energy, tourism, transport, and Islamic affairs, as well the provision of a soft loan facility of US$300 million for the Indian Ocean nation.
During the recent Malé water crisis – caused by a fire at the capital’s only desalination plant, unnamed Saudi donor pledged to assist the Maldives by providing US$1 million to the government’s water crisis fund.
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If anybody else said that they'd get arrested for insulting Islam.
.. But Maldives does not have that kind of blue eyed blond women to attract Arab's money. This is not like Monto Carlo or even London.
Perhaps Shaheem has some thing clever up his sleeve.
So, now Yameen is insulting Islam! Wait till the Grand Mufti hears that one about paradise!
Someone ought to tell the Saudis about a few little secrets of these "pious" brothers in this heaven of Maldives. A few episodes come to mind immediately:
- The Bon Aqua video depicting the piousness of the Islamic Minister!
- The piousness and fear of Allah depicted in the videos featuring a justice of the Maldivian Supreme Court and Russian prostitutes!
We have heaven indeed here on earth!
- How does the Maldives qualify to be a venue for an Islamic Financial Center? What does the Maldives have to offer that UAE or even Saudi Arabia itself cannot offer in that area? Paradise again?
The president has a strange concept of heaven if he believes warming up in the Maldives prepares you for the afterlife.
Streets are full of rubbish, sewage floating in the ocean, drugs freely available to the mass unemployed youth and corrupt officials in every business and ministry.
Sounds more like the ideal place for an apprenticeship in Hell.
The only way Saudis get 'warmed up' for heaven is by using their petro dollars to build mosques and madrasas wherever they can. The more mosques they build, the more brownie points they get to enter paradise.
Why don't they build universities, hospitals, orphanages, community centres and water treatment plants for a change? I cannot think of a single Saudi funded project that doesn't further the cause of wahabi Islam.
Why is it always mosques, mosques, mosques, mosques, mosques and more mosques?
what.. paradise but no virgins..
@MissIndia.
You don't need to advocate what is to be done for our country. We don't need people like you in this cow try.
You should only try to clean your own backyard .
I remind you that GMR will not be allowed to operate our airport.
The Saudis can also fund the construction of mental institutions so that brainwashed Wahabis like Hero, Kashim and Habibib can get the psychiatric treatment they need.
I hope there is water in your taps and you guys are able to shower and change your underpants regularly.
Any palm trees left in Male or have they all been chopped down to prevent bad karma on the president?
Like I said.....backward, dumb and superstitious.
“Maldives a taste of paradise”, also how about “Maldives, a paradise on earth”, and Maldivians “angels”. SO people from all over the world can come to paradise & meet angels.
Why is it an insult to Islam to say that the Maldives give an earthly foretaste of the heavenly paradise?
@munaafiq: Heh heh. Operating with the resistance in Saudi Arabia, we have acquired some interesting video evidence of these 'Saudi Elites' and what they consider to be 'heaven'.
Well-spoken from the President, he is doing a great job in advertising tourism and investments for the country.
I can think of a good new slogan Come and stay at the Maldivian real paradise before retiring to the imaginary paradise in haven.
hi u all lovable maldivians, cant you ask from these saudis money to start some top notch institutions, what the use of opening mosques one after the other. your paradise is on the little islands you own. for the saudis paradise
is las vegas, london, monte carlo, monaco. yes you do have some devils sneaking into the paradise in form of drug peddlers and whore selling. learn to fish man, stopping begging for fish.
@iluvmaldives
Institutions that actually HELP the people? No can do. That'd cause a drop in the heroin addiction rate and cause a fall in arab imperialist profits, you know.