Construction work has begun on the convention centre to be built in Addu City ahead of this year’s SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit, reports Haveeru.
According to Ameen Construction, work on the site will continue night and day as the company hopes to complete the centre by August this year.
The Foreign Ministry is meanwhile preparing to select candidates from Addu and Fuvahmulah for training ahead of the regional summit.
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(0)President Mohamed Nasheed said the 17th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) meeting will be held in the South Province.
The president said the summit could take place in both Addu and Fuahmulah Atolls during his weekly radio address last Friday on the Voice of Maldives.
President Nasheed acknowledged it would take a lot of work and preparation to hold the summit in Maldives, but said he was “confident a successful summit could be held in the South Province.”
The president noted this would be the first SAARC summit to be held in the southern hemisphere.
The 16th SAARC Summit was held last month in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu.
(0)Dislikes(0)After their official visits to Bhutan and China, President Mohamed Nasheed and First Lady Laila Ali have returned to the Maldives.
The president visited Bhutan for the Sixteenth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit, which was held in Thimphu on 28 and 29 of April.
President Nasheed met with several SAARC country leaders during his first visit to a SAARC summit.
They departed for China after the summit to attend the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and inaugurate the Maldives Pavilion at the fair.
The president also met with Chinese President Hu Jinato and with Honourary Consuls to the Maldives in China.
First Lady Laila Ali also met with the Honourary Consul in Shanghai, who donated US$20,000 to Kudakudhige Hiya home for children in Vilingili.
(0)Dislikes(0)The Maldives faced the worst economic situation of any country undergoing democratic transition, according to World Bank statistics for the last 50 years, President Mohamed Nasheed has said.
In his address at the 16th SAARC Summit last week, President Nasheed said the global recession hit the domestic economy hard at a time when the country was “still adjusting to the recent shift from authoritarianism to democracy”.
While the transition has been “smooth, secure and stable” in the first 18 months of democratic governance, said Nasheed, the new administration inherited “an economy in crisis”.
“In the years leading up to the 2008 presidential elections, the former administration went on a spending spree that almost bankrupted the country. Public expenditure was at a peak of 64% of GDP in 2008,” he said. “We took over a budget where 70% of government revenue was spent on public sector wages. Our administration inherited a huge national debt. Our deficit in 2009 was set to be at 33% of GDP.”
But, he added, the deficit was reduced to 28 per cent of GDP through austerity measures introduced last year, including controversial and unpopular pay cuts for civil servants.
Among other measures taken by the government to alleviate the budget deficit were cutbacks on foreign travel and a freeze on non-essential expenditure.
In addition, the new government was “bequeathed millions of dollars of unpaid bills”.
While the Maldives continue to face serious budgetary shortfalls, the government was determined to “implement structural reforms that will set the economy on a straight course”.
The president’s remarks were lampooned at the opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) rally last week as “humiliating” the country in the international arena.
Moreover, opposition parties have strongly condemned the government for disregarding campaign pledges by enforcing pay cuts and hiking electricity tariffs.
Economic outlook
The Asian Development’s Banks annual flagship economic publication, the Asian Development Outlook 2010, released last month noted that reckless fiscal expansion and a recession-induced drop in tourism “have taken the economy to the brink of crisis”.
The fiscal expansion of the past few years was “excessive”, the report notes, as it included large increases both in public sector wages and subsidies.
“It pushed budget expenditure to 63% of GDP by 2008 and the overall deficit to 17% of GDP,” it reads.
Meanwhile, the deficit spending led to “a marked balance-of-payments deterioration”, which, coupled with the impact of the global recession, threatened macroeconomic stability.
Consequently, GDP tumbled in 2009 by nine percentage points due to contractions in the tourism, construction and fisheries industries.
While GDP is projected to grow by 3 per cent this yyear, the report notes that economic outlook depends on the performance of tourism and fisheries “as well as the government’s ability to push through its reform measures”.
Apart from cuts in spending, the economic reform programme initiated by the current government includes broadening the revenue base by raising airport service charges, introducing a business profit tax and transforming the tourism bed tax into a goods and services tax.
“In order to align expenditures with revenues, the government is streamlining administrative machinery by downsizing the civil service, reducing electricity subsidies, and linking power tariff adjustments to cost of inputs twice a year,” it reads. “The government also plans to privatize parts of the extensive network of state-owned enterprises.”
In December 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a US$79.3 million standby arrangement US$13.2 million under a program to deal with external shocks.
As the role of monetary policy was limited with the currency pegged to the US dollar, the report advises that fiscal policy has to “play the greater role in demand management and economic stabilization”.
Weak institutions and human resource deficiencies, including “the fragmented structure of government”, were identified as major constraints to economic growth.
Moreover, the report notes that the government’s policy of grouping atolls into seven provinces to develop regional administration and economic centres was “a tall order” as the government “aims to reduce the cost to itself at the same time”.
Globe-trotter
In his radio address on Friday, the president said he received a text message from a resident of an “isolated island”.
The person observed that the president was “always abroad” and implied that he was neglecting domestic affairs.
The president arrived in China yesterday to open the Maldives pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010.
Addressing the concerns in his radio address, the president said he would leave “no stone unturned” in his efforts to secure aid and assistance for development projects.
“I have to go to all these places. I have to talk to a lot of people. I have to do a considerable amount of work to secure financial support, projects and assistance for the country,” he said, adding that he did not enjoy travelling.
Meanwhile, in his speech at the summit, Nasheed said he was under “tremendous pressure” to prosecute members of the former regime accused of corruption and torture.
He added that it was “understandable” for people who had been wronged in the past to seek justice and reparations.
“It is particularly difficult to forgive people, when they refuse to say sorry for the hurt they have caused,” he said. “But I am loath to act against the former regime. If we took action against everyone implicated in corruption and torture, we would end up arresting most of the opposition. I do not believe that arresting the opposition, is the best way to build a healthy democracy.”
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met with Afghani President Hamid Karzai yesterday at the Afghanistan House in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Village in Bhutan’s capital, Thimphu.
At the meeting, President Nasheed said SAARC’s position on climate change should benefit all the countries in the region.
He noted the importance of a common SAARC position on climate change in the international arena, and highlighted the importance of promoting trade in the region through the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).
President Karzai said Afghanistan was rich in water before, but due to climate change, the country was experiencing yearly droughts.
The presidents also discussed ways of handling terrorism and religious extremism in the region.
President Nasheed then met with Japanese Parliamentary Vice President and Minister for Foregin Affairs, Chinami Nishimura at the Maldives House in SAARC Village.
Nishimura spoke of the existing bilateral relations between the countries and ways to strengthen these ties. She congratulated President Nasheed on the democratic reform in the country, noting the process had accelerated under his leadership.
President Nasheed said Japanese assistance has been instrumental in helping the Maldives with its upcoming graduation from the list of the UN’s Least Developed Countries (LDC). He added the Japanese Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, was one of the few leaders who supported the Maldives during Copenhagen climate change summit.
President Nasheed sought Japanese assistance in developing the fisheries industry in the Maldives and to undertake a study for the reasons of decline in fishing.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met with Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani yesterday.
The heads of state discussed bilateral relations and regional issues, and Prime Minister Gilani said he would like to maintain the close relations between Pakistan and the Maldives.
He said Pakistan would continue to contribute to the human resource development of the Maldives and would also continue offering scholarships to Maldivian students.
President Nasheed said he would like to see a more active South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), that focused on greater regional cooperation in trade and economic issues.
He added climate change is a major issue for the Maldives and the country is now facing problems like water shortages.
Prime Minister Gilani said Pakistan would cooperate with the Maldives on the issue of climate change.
They also discussed developing greater cooperation between the two countries in the areas of counter-terrorism and anti-narcotics.
President Nasheed is in Bhutan for the sixteenth SAARC summit.
(0)Dislikes(0)During his first speech to South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) leaders at the sixteenth SAARC Summit in Bhutan, President Mohamed Nasheed called on his fellow leaders to review the effectiveness of SAARC.
He said South Asia is one of the most dynamic and important regions in the world, and all countries must be prepared for both challenges and opportunities in the future. For the benefit of all members, he said, SAARC member countries must increase cooperation.
One of the regions the president noted to be of great importance was green investment and development.
The president said South Asia could become a testing ground for innovative green technologies, research in renewable energy and new forms of sustainable development.
He called for member states to establish a Low-Carbon Research and Development Centre in the proposed South Asian University.
Speaking on democracy and human rights, President Nasheed expressed content that South Asia “is now a region of democracies,” but added there were many challenges ahead in consolidating democracy and strengthening human rights.
The president proposed a regional human rights mechanism, to help South Asian countries promote and protect the rights of their citizens.
President Nasheed noted South Asia was badly affected by the global food and energy crisis, and supported the proposal to jointly import crude oil to the region, saying it would increase energy security and would improve a bargaining position in the world market.
He added fostering inter-cultural exchange, especially amongst the youth of the region, was of high importance.
President Nasheed then called for a meeting between India and Pakistan.
The summit marks the 25th anniversary since the formation of SAARC in Bangladesh in 1985.
(0)Dislikes(0)President Mohamed Nasheed met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday after the opening ceremony of the sixteenth South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit being held in Bhutan.
The heads of state spoke mainly of increasing cooperation in higher education between the two countries.
President Nasheed said the Maldives is facing a shortage of lecturers and sought Indian assistance on the matter.
Prime Minister Singh said India would assist in filling the gap and provide lecturers to the Maldives.
President Nasheed then briefed the Prime Minister on the Maldives’ financial restructuring programme as well as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme.
President Nasheed then moved on to business, saying many Indian companies have been expressing interest to invest in the Maldives, and many were already stargin projects. He said this was a great sign of cooperation between the two nations.
They also discussed issues like climate change, defence cooperation and counter-terrorism.
(0)Dislikes(0)On his way to the 16th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit to be held in Bhutan, President Mohamed Nasheed met with Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal, Bijaya Kumar Gachadar.
The meeting was held at Kathmandu Tribhuvan International Airport, where they discussed bilateral relations between the Maldives and Nepal. They also spoke of strengthening tourism between the two countries.
The president and First Lady Laila Ali arrived in Bhutan yesterday morning, where Prime Minister of Bhutan, Lyoncheon Jigmi Yoezer Thinley, received them at Paro Airport.
Anthems of the Maldives and Bhutan were played at the opening ceremony.
President Nasheed then had a meeting with Prime Minister Thinley at the Maldives House in SAARC Village, where the president will stay during the summit.
President Nasheed congratulated Prime Minister Thinley on Bhutan’s hydro-power project, and said the project would not only benefit Bhutan but the entire SAARC region. He added his interest in helping Bhutan find more investors for the project.
Prime Minister Thinley assured support to President Nasheed on his global efforts to combat climate change. He said Bhutan would work with the Maldives to promote climate change internationally.
He added despite geographic differences, Bhutan and the Maldives are equally vulnerable to climate change, and said the people of Bhutan were already experiencing the effects of climate change.
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