Gayoom calls for Muslim World League assistance to protect national peace, order and faith

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has called for assistance from Islamic Arab countries in developing education and other services in the Maldives, as well to protect the country’s faith by “groups” he alleged are trying to weaken it.

Speaking at the Constituent Council of the Muslim World League in Saudi Arabia, Gayoom said that cooperation from Islamic Arab countries would be vital to fight political and economic challenges currently facing the country, according to the Sun Online news service.

The former president reportedly claimed that the present economic downturn, a loss of peace and order in the country and efforts “by groups of people to weaken people’s Islamic faith”, were among the most pressing challenges presently facing the Maldives.

The Muslim World League is an Islamic NGO said to consist of sixty members representing 30 different nations.

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Saudi Arabia bans protests, drafts troops ahead of weekend demonstration

Saudia Arabia has drafted 10,000 soldiers and banned all protests and marches after reports of a 20,000 strong uprising brewing in Riyadh this coming Friday.

Saudi rulers have already offered its citizens benefits worth US$37 billion in a bid to insulate the country from the wave of revolutionary turmoil currently affecting the Middle East.

The UK’s Telegraph newspaper reported that Saudi’s Interior Ministry had issued a statement on national television warning that protests “contradicted Islamic laws and social values”, and threatened violence against any disruptive elements.

In response, Saudi opposition groups were reportedly circulating Facebook messages encouraging demonstrators to stack the front lines on Friday with women, to prevent security forces from firing on the civilians.

Along with the overthrow of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi’s campaign of violence repression against his population, tensions in Saudi have also been exacerbated by the Shia uprising in nearby Bahrain.

Small demonstrations have erupted across the Saudi in areas home to Saudi’s Shia Muslim minority, many calling for the release of prisoners allegedly being held without trial.

Maldives’ economy could “collapse in hours”

Saudi Arabia sits on 20 percent of the world’s oil reserves and is its single largest producer of crude. Regional tensions have already pushed the price of oil to US$116 a barrel.

Yesterday, UK Aid Minister and former oil trader Alan Duncan speculated in the country’s press that the price could rocket as high as US$200 a barrel while a full-scale regional meltdown could see it hit US$250 a barrel.

”Two hundred dollars is on the cards if… anyone is reckless and foments unrest,” Duncan said. ”It could be very serious. If crude oil doubles, you’re going to have a serious spike [in petrol prices]. Try living without it for a week.”

One country that cannot afford to live with it for even a day is the Maldives, which spends 25 percent of its GDP on fuel – primarily marine diesel. That currently represents a daily expenditure of US$670,000 to meet the country’s fuel needs, approximately US$800 per person per year in a country where the average annual income is under US$5000.

If that price were to hit Duncan’s estimate on the back of Saudi unrest, “the Maldives’ economy would collapse with hours”, predicted a senior government source.

Civil war in Libya

Western countries have meanwhile put troops on standby as Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi fights back against a growing uprising in the troubled country.

British SAS forces have already been active in the country evacuating UK nationals, many of whom worked in the country’s oil industry. The UK press reports that eight SAS soldiers were captured by Gaddafi’s forces while escorting a British diplomat to meet opposition leaders, although UK authorities would not confirm or deny the report.

Much of eastern Libya is under rebel control, including the town of Benghazi and, after several attempts by Gaddafi to retake it, Zawiyah near Tripoli. The opposition also now control the oil port of Ras Lanuf.

Rebel forces reportedly captured two tanks during the fighting on Saturday, but apart from the equipment brought by an estimated 6000 defecting soldiers, the opposition is considerably outgunned by those loyal to the 41 year old autocracy.

Gaddafi has used foreign mercenaries and aerial bombing in an attempt to quell the uprising, and some opposition groups have tentatively stated that they would approve of foreign intervention to create a no-fly zone in a bid to ground Gaddafi’s airforce and stop it from bombing protesters. Two airforce officers who disapproved of their orders flew their planes to Malta and requested asylum.

Some civilian fighters have armed themselves with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-aircraft guns, reports a Telegraph journalist in the country, but the majority are armed with little more than “hammers and barbecue skewers”.

“Much of the rebellion is being fought by welders and engineers, shopkeepers and waiters, a dishevelled army of civilian volunteers commanded by a handful of military officers who have agreed to join the fight,” reports the UK’s Telegraph.

Interpol has put out a global alert against Gaddafi and 15 others including his family members and close associates, “in a bid to warn member states of the danger posed by the movement of these individuals and their assets.”

The Maldives Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Naseem, has called on leaders at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to assist the countries undergoing a democratic transition in the Middle East.

Naseem said the Maldives welcomed the spread of democracy in the Muslim world, and praised the bravery and determination of those citizens in Egypt, Tunisia, Tunisia and elsewhere “for asserting their fundamental rights and freedoms, and for believing in a better future.”

“The Muslim Awakening heralds the end of power of the few for the few, and the beginning of a new era founded upon universal values, individual freedom, and mutual respect and tolerance,” Naseem said. “The Awakening also puts to bed, once and for all, the notion that Islam is somehow inherently incompatible with human rights and democracy.”

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Saudi oil reserves could be 40% lower than estimated: US Embassy cable

The Maldives’ economy could be crippled by rising oil prices sooner than expected, after a leaked cable from the US embassy in Riyadh sparked fears that Saudi Arabian oil reserves could be 40 percent lower than previous estimates.

In the cable dated November 2007, geologist and former head of exploration at Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil giant Aramco told US consul general John Kincannon that the world’s largest oil company may have overstated its reserves by 300 billion barrels.

Saudi Arabia is believed to sit on almost a quarter of the world’s oil reserves, the export of which directly accounts for almost 50 percent of country’s GDP and indirectly for much of the rest of its industry.

In 2007, Aramco reported that it had 716 billion barrels of total reserves, 51 percent of which was recoverable. Within 20 years the company predicted it would have 900 million barrels, and a recovery rate of 70 percent.

“Al-Husseini disagrees with this analysis, as he believes that Aramco’s reserves are overstated by as much as 300 billion [barrels] of ‘speculative resources’,” the cable reads.

“In al-Husseini’s view, once 50 percent depletion of original proven reserves has been reached and the 180 billion [barrel] threshold crossed, a slow but steady output decline will ensue and no amount of effort will be able to stop it. By al-Husseini’s calculations, approximately 116 billion barrels of oil have been produced by Saudi Arabia, meaning only 64 billion barrels remain before reaching this crucial point of inflection. At 12 million [barrels per day] production, this inflection point will arrive in 14 years.”

Al-Husseini was on Aramco’s board of directors from 1986 until 2004, and sat on the company’s Board of Directors from 1996 to 2004. He was, states the cable, “no doomsday theorist. His pedigree, experience and outlook demand that his predictions be thoughtfully considered.”

A decline in the rate of oil production at a time when demand continues to surge, particularly in the developing world, will cause the oil price to skyrocket.

The Maldivian economy is dependent on oil to such an extent that is spends a quarter of its GDP on it – US$245 million – mostly marine diesel. The 15 percent increase in oil prices over the past five months has led to the Maldives spending almost US$100,000 more on fossil fuels, per day.

Recent turmoil in Egypt – home to the Suez canal, one of the world’s major oil routes which sees 3 million barrels pass through daily – has seen oil prices jump twice past the US$100 a barrel mark in the last few weeks.

Were that price to eventually stick, due to either ongoing Middle East instability or concerns over supply such as those cited in the Riyadh leak, then the Maldives could end up spending upwards of US$230,000 a day on fuel when accounting for possible economic growth of about eight percent during 2011.

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Former president Gayoom departs to Saudi Arabia

The Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has departed for Saudi Arabia this morning to attend a special conference to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rabitat Al-Alam Al-Islami (the Muslim World League).

Gayoom will address the  Opening Session of the conference in Mecca.

President Gayoom is accompanied by his son Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Former Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs Mohamed Rasheed Ibrahim, and Principal Secretary at the Secretariat of the Former President Adam Naeem.

At their departure this morning the former president had a visa issue and the airline declined to take him, however with the assistance of President Mohamed Nasheed, the delegates were able to leave on the flight.

Spokesperson for the former president, Mohamed ‘Mundhu’ Shareef did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.

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Ancient skull found in Saudi Arabia is “ancestor of monkeys and great apes”, claims report

The skull of a creature the size of a baboon and living in a warm forest 28-29 million years ago in western Saudi Arabia, is being described as one of the most significant fossil finds in decades “because it illuminates a critical moment in evolution when ancient primates split into two separate lineages,” reports the Guardian’s Ian Sample.

Few such fossils have been found of this period of life on earth. It has been named Saadanius hijazensis.

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Saudi Prince arrives in Maldives

Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud arrived in the Maldives on 15 April, where he was greeted at Malé International Airport by President Mohamed Nasheed, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed and a procession of traditional guards.

Meeting at the President’s Office, President Nasheed thanked Prince Al-Saud for visiting the Maldives and said the visit would enhance relations between the Maldives and Saudi Arabia.

President Nasheed said Saudi Arabia was an important development partner for the Maldives and thanked the Saudi government for all their assistance.

Prince Al-Saud thanked President Nasheed for his hospitality.

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Vice President meets with Saudi Fund and IBD

As part of his ongoing visit to Saudi Arabia, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with Deputy Chairman of Saudi Fund for Development Dr Yusuf Al-Bassam on 21 March.

Dr Waheed briefed Dr Al-Bassam on the upcoming Donor Conference and asked for the participation of the Saudi Fund.

Dr Al-Bassam assured the vice president of the assistance of the Saudi Fund and added the Fund would also assist the government in its tsunami housing projects.

Dr Waheed met with the President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali Al-Madani at the IDB headquarters yesterday.

He then met with senior officials of the IBD Group to discuss the Donor Conference and the introduction of Islamic banking in the Maldives.

The IBD assured their participation in the Donor Conference and said they were willing to work with the government in realising its key development areas.

Vice President Waheed also visited Mecca and performed Umra.

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Vice President meets Saudi Crown Prince and members of RCCI

As part of his official visit to Saudi Arabia, Vice President Dr Mohamed Waheed met with the Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz.

Vice President Waheed said the Maldives and Saudi Arabia had always had close bilateral ties, and they discussed ways of improving relations between the countries.

Dr Waheed briefed the Crown Prince on the upcoming Donor Conference and asked the Saudi government to participate.

The Crown Prince assured Vice President Waheed that his country would participate in the conference and would continue to assist the Maldives.

Dr Waheed then met with the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI).

The meeting was hosted by Chairman of RCCI Dr Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Jeraisi.

Vice President Waheed briefed the RCCI on the conference and said Maldives was specifically looking for investors in the areas of housing, infrastructure, utilities and renewable energy.

Saudi Minister of State for Finance and Treasury Ahmed As-ad was also present at the meeting and said it was important to establish a trade link between the two countries.

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Vice President on official visit to Saudi Arabia

Vice President Mohamed Waheed has departed the Maldives for an official visit to Saudi Arabia.

Dr Waheed’s visit is mainly focused on lobbying the upcoming Maldives Partnership Forum, or Donor Conference, to be held on 28-29 March.

The vice president met with the Saudi Finance Minister Dr Ibrahim Al-Assaf on 20 March, briefing him on the Donor Conference and thanking the Saudi government for its support of the Maldives.

Dr Al-Assaf said Saudi Arabia would participate in the Donor Conference and would continue its support to the Maldives.

Vice President Waheed then met with Governor of Riyadh Prince Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud.

They discussed bilateral relations between the two countries and ways to strengthen them, especially in the areas of economic cooperation.

Governor Prince Salman assured the Maldives of further economic assistance, saying it was the duty of Saudi Arabia to assist Islamic countries around the world.

Vice President Waheed then met with Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr Mohamed Bin Obeid Al-Marzoi.

Dr Al-Marzoi said it would encourage GCC countries to participate in the Donor Conference and the GCC itself would participate in the Conference.

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