The biggest achievement has been governing the country peacefully: President

President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has said that the biggest achievement of the government over the past one year has been its success with progressing with the nation peacefully.

The president said this while talking to reporters upon his return after attending the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Summit held in Cairo.

“I believe, if we think about the past year, that our biggest achievement has been the peaceful progress of the Maldives. Despite the challenges faced by the country, we were able to restore order and ensure safety for the people,” he said.

He said that great efforts were made to achieve this, and that the doubts that surrounded his assumption of office resulted in confusion for the people. He said that he worked patiently to provide answers to those questions, and that the efforts in this regard were completed successfully.

“…We experienced a period of great turmoil, but we listened patiently to the groups that opposed us, we listened to their concerns as well, and I believe that the peace that we have achieved today is a result of those efforts,” he said.

Speaking further on the achievements of the past one year, the president said that the Maldives has achieved advanced economically as well, which is reflected in the improved performance of the tourism and fisheries sectors. He said that development projects that had been under way, had also moved forward.

Prior to responding to the queries by a reporter regarding the achievements of the past year, the president spoke about the OIC Summit.

He said that discussions were held regarding the establishment of peace in countries such as Syria and Mali. When asked if the Maldives initiated and proposed any issues at the summit, he said that this was not done.

The president was accompanied by Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdullah in his visit to Cairo to attend the OIC Summit.