President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has today inaugurated the Maldives Investment Forum in Singapore. The forum, initiated by the Government of Maldives, will be held at Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.
In his remarks, the President said that the presence of many long-time investors and senior business personalities in Maldives, at today’s forum, gave comfort and confidence that the economic and trade policy pursued by the Government was heading in the right direction. He expressed his hopes that this would spur interest, and encourage other new investors to consider Maldives as a destination for future investments.
The President said that the Government believed that foreign investors of global acumen have an important role to play in the economic transition of the Maldives, as it embarked on mega development projects. He said that the Government of Maldives welcomes investment from overseas companies, and expressed the Government’s commitment to provide the best support to ensure faster investment and quicker results.
In his speech, President Yameen said that, as a growing small economy, his administration’s economic vision was to become a resilient, diversified, high income economy, in the next decade. Speaking in this regard, the President said that foreign investments and private sector engagement was a key ingredient and pathway to achieve this goal.
Underlining that the Maldives was entering a new phase of development, the President noted that as a small, forward-looking, middle-income, developing country, the Maldives was transitioning into a stable and mature democracy. He said that the Government has embarked on an ambitious economic agenda, to transform the economy, building on decades of sustained and stable economic growth.
Speaking at the inauguration, the President described that the Maldives Investment Forum as a manifestation of the government’s desire to engage with private investors, noting that it was the beginning of a series of events to continue and sustain a proactive dialogue with the international business community.
The President also conveyed the Government’s commitment to explore openings for increasing foreign investment flows to non-traditional sectors, to lift Maldives beyond the image of a “picturesque postcard.” He said that the projects unveiled at today’s forum were designed to position Maldives to take advantage of its strategic location as a hub and gateway for commerce, innovation and creativity, linking the rest of the globe with South Asia.
Highlighting the Government’s key pledge for economic transformation, President Yameen assured of the Government’s commitment to bring the necessary reforms to achieve this goal. “The projects launched today seek to engage private investors in the delivery of key pieces of infrastructure, critical to effect national level transformative economic vision. It will indeed play a catalytic role in sustaining our growth, diversifying the economy, and creating employment for youth population”, said the President.
“My Government firmly believes that broad-based, private sector-led growth is essential to achieving faster development progress and to transform the economy from where it is today. We believe that investments, in particular foreign investment, is imperative for economic growth, private sector development, and wealth creation. I am here to give my government’s full assurance and commitment, to engage with investors in realizing a long term economic development vision.”
