Some countries dictate to Maldives how it should act: President

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has said that some countries dictate to Maldives how it should act, and stressed that the Maldives is capable of tackling its own issues.

Speaking to members of the business community of Sri Lanka this morning as part of his current official visit to Sri Lanka, the President said that the Maldives is an open country with an educated people, which has the capability of restoring internal peace and order.

He said that despite the difficulties faced by the Maldives over the past six months, no schools had to be closed, and the airport, tourism sector, and businesses were in full operation.

The President said that the recent protests in Maldives have resulted in confrontations between the Police and members of the public, but no significant injuries have been sustained by either party.

He said that the government’s priority is to protect the interests of the Maldivian people.

Referring to the current economic situation of the Maldives, the President said that the country is facing financial difficulties due to the practices of the former government; nonetheless, the economy is not in recession.

He noted that bad public finance decisions have resulted in a government debt as high as 90 percent of GDP, and unpaid bills of MVR1 billion for 2011.

He stressed that action have to be taken to rectify the public finance situation, and noted that this requires long-term planning.

Economic Minister Ahmed Mohamed and Tourism Minister Ahmed Adheeb provided information on the investment opportunities in Maldives at today’s meeting held at Hilton hotel with members of the Sri Lankan’s business community.

The next item on today’s agenda of the President’s visit to Sri Lanka is his meeting with foreign diplomats and reporters in Sri Lanka.