The Government of Maldives has issued a rebuttal to the New York Times over an article published regarding the sale off Faafu Atoll to Saudi Arabia.
A letter sent in by Ahmed Sareer, the ambassador of Maldives to the United States, dated April 13th, says the article “Inhabitants of Maldives Atoll Fear $10 Billion Saudi Investment” dated March 27th , “casts undue suspicion on an otherwise normal investment deal”. Ambassador Sareer stresses that the deal was not a secret and that they were preliminary investment discussions.
In spite of his assertion, no details of the deal were given.
The letters said the article diminished the importance of development for small countries such as the Maldives. Noting that Maldives is not just home to picturesque beaches but also to 425,000 people deeply in need of development, he said the Maldives needed to diversify away from tourism.
“There is no history of “pushing people off the smaller islands.” Our government has been explicit: The relocation of residents is voluntary, never obligatory. Based on incentives, we pursue population concentration so we can provide better services to more citizens,” the letter said.
Sareer added that the investment was in line with the Constitution.
The New York Time article highlighted the rumors on Faafu Atoll sale, including public sentiments and concerns over the proposed sale.
The President ended the speculation over the proposed sale of Faafu Atoll to the Saudi royal family on February in a ceremony held to hand over membership forms of new recruits to ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives. President Yameen said that the proposed development amounts to US$ 10 billion (MVR 154.2 billion). He said there was no need to panic over lack of information on the Faafu Atoll project, adding that the Government will release information when it was appropriate to do so.
The secret nature of the sale and leaks of audio tapes of Parliamentarians discussing the sale had increased public outrage over the deal.
The agreement on the atoll was to be signed with the Saudi King on his planned visit to the Maldives. However, the trip was cancelled by the Saudi’s citing an outbreak of H1N1.
