Your Excellency Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid,
Exellencies, President of the Foakaidhoo Council Ahmed Asif,
Honourable Members of Parliament Mohammad Rashid
Friends, Ladies & Gentlemen,
I am really a little bit overwhelmed by the warm welcome that has been accorded by all of you to me & my delegation when we arrived at Foakaidhoo. It is a great pleasure, a great honour to visit this wonderful island, to be with all of you on what is a very important day.
This Community Centre is an excellent example of the quality social infrastructure that is being created across Maldives under the India-Maldives development partnership. I applaud the Council and the people of Foakaidhoo for the successful completion of this project.
I also thank Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and his team and his ministry for the very effective coordination of implementation of various high-impact community development projects in the Maldives.
India is supporting through grant assistance, 45 such projects spread across 16 atolls and 36 islands. 23 of these projects have already been completed. A new project, for the development of a sports complex in Gaaf Dhaalu Gaddhoo was added yesterday.
I am also delighted to share that India will be extending a further MVR 100 million to take on additional community welfare projects just like this, in other parts of the Maldives.
Friends,
The purpose of the project that we are inaugurating today is to encourage the local community, especially the youth and women to conduct and participate in various social activities, in economic activities which are necessary for their overall well-being and development. And we do so as a step forward from India, because we see the high priority accorded by the Government of Maldives for development of youth and we in India think that it is a privilege to be a partner in these efforts. Our cooperation in the areas of sports and youth development has expanded rapidly, including through gifting of equipment and training of Maldivian athletes in India. We have undertaken grant projects for setting up youth centers, strengthening sports infrastructure and establishing open air gyms on 64 islands, including in Fokaidhoo.
Sports infrastructure across islands will be developed through the dedicated concessional USD 40 million Line of Credit. I should add here that in India, we have two movements which the Prime Minister has personally propagated. One is calledFit India, to encourage all of us to be fit and the other is called Khelo India for the young people to take part in sports. For me today, this is a way of taking Fit India and Khelo India into our Neighborhood First Policy and we certainly, I think all of us, would like to see a much more socially active, physically active South Asia.
Apart from these projects, we have also launched several initiatives in training and human resource development. Last year, 900 Maldivians visited India to participate in fully funded in-person training programmes. I hope that many more would make use of the opportunities in the years to come.
I understand that the people of Foakaidhoo mainly engage in economic activities related to the fisheries and agriculture. To support the strengthening of the fisheries sector in Maldives, we are working with the Government of Maldives to augment MIFCO’s processing and cold storage capacities. I am happy to share that the contract for expansion of MIFCO facilities was awarded last evening and the physical work will begin soon. We are confident that the fishing community in the northern atolls will benefit greatly from this project.
India had earlier exempted duties on Maldivian tuna and tuna product exports, and I hope that Maldivianexporters will take full advantage of it so that the fishing community of Maldives could also get the benefit from their activities.
The expansion of the Hanimaadhoo international airport was a mega-project that we’ve launched yesterday. It will surely spur growth inthe tourism infrastructure development, including in Foakaidhoo and neighbouring islands and bring to all of you also the economic benefits which will better your lives.
Friends,
India and Maldives have a very special relationship. We in India see ourselves as a good neighbor, special neighbor, a trusted neighbor. And the proof of our goodwill and our concern and our affection for the people of Maldives is exactly in projects like this, project which makes difference to the daily lives of small communities across this island. I know today, from this inauguration, our partnership will emerge stronger than before.
The remarkable progress that we are seeing in recent years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. And this was also visible during President Solih’s visit to India. This progress, I want to assure you, India is completely committed to taking forward.
My visit to the northern atolls of Maldives has been a very very different experience. This is the first time I am coming. I don’t know if any other Indian Minister who has come to this part of the Maldives before. But I want to say to all of you that I will take back very good memories. I will take back a very strong sense of friendship from all of you. But I will also take back feeling of satisfaction that development projects, which define our relationship are slowly but surely taking root in this country. And for me this has really been a very important part of my visit.
Once again, I congratulate the people of Foakaidhoo on the development of this Community centre. I hope you make the best use of it for recreation, for community bonding and most of all for pursuing a healthy lifestyle.
Once again, thank you very much.
Foakaidhoo
January 19, 2023