President Nasheed tells Lankan business community:

Maldives invite local businessmen

Ravi Ladduwahetty

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed on Saturday implored Sri Lankan business leaders to acquire Madivian state run enterprises that he said, his Government was hoping to divest soon.

Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed

President Nasheed was addressing frontline local business leaders at a Forum at the Hilton Colombo, which was jointly organized by the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“I have decided that the Maldivian Government should not get involved in running business and we have decided to divest all state enterprises.

So, this is indeed a grand opportunity for the Sri Lankan business community to participate in the acquisitions and run them, President Nasheed told local business leaders.”

He said that one of the initial ventures, which will be sold, will be the Maldivian State Electrical Company.

There are a lot of opportunities in the development and maintenance of infrastructure such as highways, ports and airports. “There is ample opportunity for every one of you in a process that is very transparent for all and there is absolutely no need to give any Maldivian official kickbacks to get approvals,” President Nasheed said.

Commenting on the Sri Lankan leisure industry which has invested heavily in the Maldives, he said that he was aware that our private sector has invested substantially in the Maldives. It is incumbent on all of you to expand into other areas of business in the Maldives where there are ample opportunities,” he said.

He also urged the Sri Lankan corporates to participate in Human Resource Development and Training of Maldivians in the areas of Tourism and Agriculture.

He also said that the Galle Face Hotels Group has the Gardiner Group was already invested in hotels in his country had also participated in the development of the Kadeedhoo Airport, which is in the Huvadhoo Attol Island, South of the Archipelago. He said that he has already told the two Brettonwoods institutions- the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund not to provide credit lines to the Maldivian Government but to channel all funding to the private sector.

“If my Government gets the funding, there will be corruption and this will lead to development ending as a white elephant,” he said

Meanwhile, Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry, (FCCISL) President Kosala Wickremanayake said that he hoped that there will be many more prospects for the establishment of joint ventures so that both countries would stand to gain economically.

“We are also hoping that the business negotiations between the Maldivian delegates and the Sri Lankan business community were fruitful and mutually beneficial,” he said.