The Australian Parliamentary Secretary for International Development, Mr Bob McMullan has said Australia will increase the number of scholarships to the Maldives. He made the statement during his meeting with Vice President Dr Waheed. The meeting was held today at the Parliament House of Australia.
Mr McMullan added that Australia would consider increasing bilateral assistance to the Maldives.
He also assured that Australia would assist the Maldives in its efforts to alleviate the economic difficulties. He further said that the Australian government would support the Maldives in seeking the IMF assistance.
Separately, Vice President Dr Waheed also met with Ms Louise Hand, Australian Ambassador for Climate Change.
During the meeting with Ms Hand, Dr Waheed discussed the major issues faced by the Maldives in the area of environmental protection and preservation. He also briefed Ms Hand on the measures that the government was taking to overcome those problems.
Ms Hand commended the government’s environment policy. Noting that the Maldives had undertaken many important measures to protect the environment, Ms Hand said she would work to provide technical expertise to the Maldives in the area. Ms Hand also said that she would work to seek research scholarships to the Maldives in the area of climate change.
Today, Dr Waheed also met with Deputy Chief Executive of Austrade, Mr Peter Yuile. Discussions were focused on seeking Australian investments to the Maldives. Mr Peter Yuile also said that as some Australian companies have technologies useful for the Maldives, he would assist the Maldives in obtaining those technologies.
