Executive Director for General Affairs of Qatar Charity Ali Bin Rashid al Mohannadi has said that Arab countries have been greatly negligent in providing assistance to the Maldives and apologised for this negligence.

Ali Bin Rashid al Mohannadi said this while speaking on behalf of Qatar Chamber of Commerce (QCC), one of the largest charity organisations of Qatar. A delegation of QCC is presently visiting Maldives on an invitation by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.

Ali Bin Rashid al Mohannadi said that Arab businessmen and ancestors used to provide great assistance to Maldives, and deeply apologised to the people of Maldives for their recent negligence in this regard. He said that they had nonetheless begun a new chapter for providing assistance to the Maldives.

Other members of the delegation said that Maldives is a country which is home to a group of disciplined Muslims, and urged Maldivians to uphold their discipline and protect Islam.

They said that the fact that Maldives does not have street beggars shows that the people are of good conduct who work to protect their self-esteem.

The delegation assured that efforts will be made to provide religious, educational, social and humanitarian aid to Maldives by communicating with the governments, organisations and businessmen of Gulf countries.

The group is made up of delegates representing charity organisations and universities of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

The QCC delegation has visited the children’s shelter ‘Kudakudhinge Hiya’ in Villingili and the home for the disabled in K. Guraidhoo. Discussions were held during the visits with the heads of these shelters on the areas in which they require assistance.

The delegation said that the shelters have been requested to prepare and send proposals on the areas in which assistance is required as soon as possible. Members of the delegation expressed sadness upon seeing the condition of the homes.

Delegation member and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of RAF, General Major Ayedh Bin Dabasan Al-Qahtani said that it was their wish to extend humanitarian, social and developmental assistance to the Maldives for the purpose of sustaining good Islamic relations, and asked reporters to convey their message to the citizens of the Maldives.

Minister of Islamic Affairs Sheikh Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed said that today was a day of great happiness for the Maldives.

He said that the members of the delegation will provide assistance to Kudakudhinge Hiya, home for the disabled, office of the Islamic Ministry, Kulliyya and Arabiyya School.

He said that the delegation wished to provide assistance in various areas.

The delegation will provide assistance to the tourism, education, health, economic and construction sectors of the Maldives.

Islamic Ministry has initiated several projects to seek aid from Arab countries.