Shaheem: Saudi King loves Maldives, legal investment is no problem

Dr. Shaheem Ali Saeed has commented that the Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud loved Maldives and that a legal investment made by the Saudi government in Maldives was not an issue.

Dr. Shaheem - who is the Chancellor of Islamic University of Maldives and served as Minister of Islamic Affairs during two administrations – made the comment during an exclusive interview with “Sun” regarding the controversial plan by Saudi Arabian government to invest in a large-scale project in F. Atoll.

Shaheem said that Saudi Arabia was currently the leading Islamic nation in the world. He said that Saudi Arabian government’s service to the two holy mosques - Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi to strengthen the brotherly ties between Islamic countries was invaluable.

“The two holy mosques of us Muslims in Saudi Arabia has been enlarged to accommodate millions of worshippers. We also need to note the assistance provided by the country to the Islamic Ummah,” said Shaheem.

He said that in addition to strengthening brotherly ties between the two countries, he also felt the need to strengthen economic ties.

He said that it was the support of other Islamic countries was import to Maldives as it worked on developing the country.

“Therefore, investments coming in, especially from Arab Islamic countries in a way that’s beneficial to Maldives is, in compliance with legislation, is beneficial to Maldives, in my opinion,” said Shaheem.

He also condemned comments made linking people who study in Saudi Arabia and terrorism.

He said that the country was a global advocate for anti-terrorism and anti-extremism, and noteworthy for its success in countering terrorism and extremism.

He said there were plenty of government and private-sector officials in Maldives who studied from Saudi Arabia, and that there was no display of extremist views from them.

“This includes ministers, deputy ministers, judges and multiple others in different posts. We don’t see any of them advocating for such a thing,” said Dr. Shaheem.

Shaheem said that King Salman loved other Islamic nations, especially Maldives. And said he found no issue in the Saudi Arabian government making a legal investment in Maldives.