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The President says that the Maldives is in need of financial assistance, following the Asian tsunami |
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Friday, 16 September 2005 |
The President has said that the Maldives is in need of financial assistance following the tsunami. He made the statement at the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly last night, writes Government of Maldives, 17 Sep 2005 in Relief Web at http://www.reliefweb.int/
Forwarded by Budhi Mulyawan 210905.
Noting that Maldives was the only country to have faced a nationwide disaster from the tsunami, the President said that the economic asset losses were estimated at 62 percent of the GDP. He further said that tourism, which had been the engine of national economic growth for the past three decades, was suffering from a sharp decline. The President also said that surging oil prices were draining the national foreign exchange revenues, and that for the first time, the Maldives was in need of significant budgetary support.
The President said that the Maldives had signalled that the decade ahead was of critical importance to the country in forums that had discussed the economic future of the Maldives, and looked at the demographic challenges facing the country. Pointing out that over the past forty years the population of the country had tripled, the President said the Maldives had a young population.
The President further said that the country had successfully brought down the population growth rate, and that it was time to ensure that every working-aged Maldivian finds gainful employment. He also said that while development remained the country's responsibility, the means of self-reliance was woefully insufficient for the Maldives.
Press Release reference number: 2005-538
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