Category: News in Brief

Erroneous reports of pirates operating in Maldivian waters: Foreign Ministry

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has claimed that while recent reports of pirates operating in Maldivian waters are unsubstantiated, the government is concerned about pirates operating off the Somali coast west of the Maldives.

Foreign Minister Dr Ahmed Shaheed said the government is keeping in touch “with the Indians and the Americans to enhance maritime security.”

“For now, Somali pirates are operating as far as the Seychelles, but not in the Maldives.”

Dr Shaheed said the government was taking “pre-emptive and preventive measures” to ensure the safety of the country.

State Minister of Defence Muiz Adnan said although there have not been recent reports of pirates operating in Maldivian waters, “this is a concern for everybody. A lot of pirates operate out of Somali waters.”

Adnan said the coast guard conducts regular sea and air patrols and also regularly schedules joint patrols with the Indian army, although “not only concerning piracy.”

He said if any pirate vessels are seen in Maldivian waters, “we will take the necessary measures to apprehend them.”

President of the Fishermen’s Union Ibrahim Manik said he had heard no reports of fishermen sighting any pirate vessels in Maldivian waters, but said that sometimes they saw foreign vessels illegally doing long-line fishing.

Manik said if fishermen saw any illegal vessels, they would “definitely cooperate with the government. We are fighting against this,” he said, but added that “we are not very concerned. We are stronger than that.”

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Bids for management of Malé International Airport received

Many well-known companies in the airport management business have shown interest in investing in and managing Malé International Airport according to Invest Maldives, reports Miadhu.

The main interested company is GMR of India, who has also made a bid to develop Hanimaadhoo International Airport.

Some of the other interested parties include Turkish company TAV Airports Holding Company, Aéroports de Paris Management Company of France, and two joint bids by Mexican government-owned Aeropuertos Y Servicios Auxiliares in partnership with Reliance Infrastructure of India, and Indian company GVK Airport Developers Ltd in partnership with Swiss Flughafen Zurich AG.

The winning bid will be chosen by a special evaluation committee. Experts have said the company who wins the bid will have to spend millions of dollars to redevelop, upgrade and manage the airport.

Malé International Airport is being offered for investment as part of the government’s decentralisation plan, but critics have said the airport is one of the few government owned ventures that makes a profit.

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Maldives and Timor-Leste start Asian initiative on climate change

Maldives and Timor-Leste will be launching the “Asian Initiative on Climate Change,” reports Miadhu.

The world’s largest growing economies and most populous countries are in Asia, and both the governments of the Maldives and Timor-Leste believe if Asia takes immediate action against climate change, other regions in the world will follow.

The Maldives was part of the recent Progressive Group meeting, held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia last week.

The Progressive Group is formed by countries wanting to reach a legally binding agreement at the next UNFCCC climate change summit in Mexico later this year.

The group will hold a second meeting before COP16 in Malé this July.

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Vice President urges companies to fulfil social responsibilities

Speaking at the 15 anniversary function of Malé Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC) at the Fen Building, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed urged all business organisations in the Maldives to give special attention to fulfilling their corporate social responsibility.

Dr Waheed said, as the largest water provider in the country, the MWSC was undertaking a great responsibility.

He called on the company to fulfill its social responsibility and keep in mind the greater benefit of the people, while still working to maximise its profit.

Dr Waheed said clean drinking water and more affordable and accessible services for the less fortunate of the country should be given special consideration.

He said access to clean drinking water and adequate sewerage facilities was a Constitutional right of Maldivians, and it is the state’s responsibility to provide these services.

Dr Waheed said the MWSC had been providing clean water for half the population, and added the government established provincial utilities companies to provide for the rest of the population.

Dr Waheed also presented the company’s annual employee awards.

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Investment in private sector to be worth US$1 billion over three years-President Nasheed

President Mohamed Nasheed has said in his weekly radio address on the Voice of Maldives last Friday that private sector investments in the Maldives will be worth an estimated US$1 billion over the next three years.

President Nasheed said this would be in addition to official development assistance, and discussed details of the investment areas and upcoming projects.

Some of the projects are the upgrade of Malé International Airport and Hanimandhoo airport, expanding Gan airport’s runway, establishing a waste management facility in Thilafushi, Apollo Hospitals taking over Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH), the proposed national ferry system, and a project to build 10,000 housing units.

President Nasheed also spoke of the recent Donor’s Conference, saying it “was very successful.” He added that it showed the trust the international community has in the current government.

The president said the US$ 313 million in pledges that was announced at the Donor Conference will go toward developmental assistance and budget support.

President Nasheed added that the sports sector will be restructured, and there will be a national sports institute to oversee development of sports infrastructure.

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Taxi destroyed in fire

A taxi parked near Hazarsh Mart in Galolhu, Malé, caught fire yesterday, report police.

Police said the fire started at 5 pm. Nobody was injured during the incident.

The Maldives National Defense Force Fire and Rescue team attended the area and controlled the fire.

Police reported that the car was almost fully damaged during the incident and are still investigating the reason for the fire.

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National football team player arrested

Police have arrested mid-fielder for the Maldives national football team and Victory club, Mohamed ”Bakaa” Arif, in connection with a drug-related case.

Sub-inspector Ahmed Shiyam confirmed that Arif was arrested last Thursday in connection with a police special operation.

Shiyam said the case was under investigation and he could not provide more details on the arrest.

Arif was recently transferred from the New Radicals club to the Victory, for whom he still has not played a single game.

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Maldives police complete judo course

Twelve police have completed their second course in basic judo techniques, organised by Maldives Police Services (MPS).

The judo course was conducted by Yukata Kakinooma from the Japan International Corporation Agency, running throughout March. The first course was conducted in January.

Judo, meaning “gentle way”,  is a popular Japanese martial art that emphasises immobilisation of the opponent through joint locks, holds and grappling.

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Successful agreement on UN Child Rights Treaty led by Maldives

The Maldives has secured the decision to draft a new international human rights treaty as an additional optional protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) at the Human Rights Council in Geneva this week, reports Miadhu.

The CRC, which is the most ratified treaty in the world, entered into force in 1990. Until now, it was the only major human rights treaty that did not have procedures to allow violations of children’s rights to be reported to UN human rights mechanisms.

The unanimous decision reached in Geneva ends the 20 year deadlock between UN Member States, now allowing international protection mechanisms to intervene when domestic institutions fail to offer protection.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr Ahmed Shaheed said the fact that the Maldives was asked to chair and lead the negotiations to secure the agreement on the CRC showed the high regard which the international community has for the Maldives.

He added that the fact that the 20 year deadlock had been broken showed the Maldives’ growing international influence.

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