Foreign Minister: Ukulhas convention center will boost convention tourism

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has stated that the new convention center located on A.A Ukulhas has the potential to enhance and develop convention tourism in the Maldives.

The Minister was speaking at the opening of the "SKIMA 2019" tech fair at Ukulhas and stated that the door for academic debates has been opened in another location in the country other than Addu City and Male' City with the new convention center in Ukulhas.

"The new convention center will surely bring with it new opportunities and new businesses in the form of conferences, to the island, atoll and the country," 

"We are seeing the country being opened for new sectors such as conference tourism today. This will surely bring advantages to the country's economy," said the Minister. The Minister also highlighted that important events in the country should not be centered on Male' City, but rather distributed to different areas of the country.

He also reiterated the government's stance on empowering the councils under the decentralization system and providing the necessary means for the councils to profit and develop islands.

Moreover, the Minister also stated that the government has begun proceeding with its plans of new projects worth MVR 2.7 billion all over the country and that 106 different projects have been contracted out and promised that the Maldives will see the government fulfill all of its promises.

The Minister also said that the country's stance in the international community had been weakened when the current administration took office and that reversing this and gaining the rightful position of the country internationally is one of the key aims of the current administration's foreign policy.

"It is evident from the noteworthy world-famous scholars present here at the conference today, that our work on regenerating the rightful position of the Maldives in the international community is succeeding," said the Minister.

The Minister further stated that in this era, technology has to be utilized to enhance the services provided by the government. He also affirmed that it was a target of the government to implement policies that will pave the way for digitalization through modern technology.