Vice President Faisal Naseem has stated that developmental efforts were undertaken by state entities even during the most trying of times. He made the statement while speaking at the special ceremony held to mark the 35th anniversary of Maldives Ports Limited (MPL).

The Vice President officiated the ceremony held tonight at Thaajudheen School, where the company appreciated the hard work and commitment of its staff and honoured long-serving staff members.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Faisal Naseem said that President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih gives precedence to capacity building and human resources and focuses on alleviating the situation of welfare among the people. Noting the efforts by MPL towards capacity building and human resource management, the Vice President highlighted that it is one of the key areas of government expenditure. He then applauded MPL for introducing company scholarships.

Speaking at the ceremony, Vice President Faisal Naseem said that Maldives is highly dependent upon foreign imports to drive its economy and that much of the goods imported to the country are delivered as sea freight consignments. The Vice President noted the difficulties faced in shipping goods during the lockdown phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and applauded the remarkable work done by MPL staff in managing the inflow of goods in order to avoid a shortage of food items in the country.

Concluding his remarks, the Vice President urged everyone to collectively work towards the progress of the country despite ideological differences.

During the ceremony, the Vice President gave away commemorative plaques to long-serving MPL staff who retired from their duties and handed over scholarships to the successful staff members. The MPL management also presented the Vice President with a souvenir.