Regional peace critical for development: Maldivian Tourism Minister

• Calls this an era of developing island nations
• Commends Ravi K’s open sky policy
• Invites island nations Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles to be a part of their growth

By Charumini de Silva

The Maldives Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor said yesterday that regional peace was critical for the development of the island nations.

“This is the era of developing the island nations, hence regional peace is paramount,” he said, addressing the Hospitality Investment Conference Indian Ocean 2015 held in Colombo yesterday.

He asserted that openness and minimal Government intervention were important factors in attracting and encouraging investments to the countries.

Commenting on Maldives-Sri Lanka friendship, he said Sri Lanka had always been a great friend and the two countries complemented each other very well.

Agreeing with Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake’s open sky policy, he pointed out that it was one of the key reasons for the success of the tourism industry in the Maldives.

“Our own airline went bankrupt and that is why we opened up our skies. Now all the airlines are our national airlines. SriLankan Airlines is one of the key airlines that bring many tourists to the Maldives, along with airlines from the Middle East and Singapore,” he added.

He said being open was a key factor and as a result today the Maldives had the largest sea plane operation in the world.

The Minister added: “The Maldives is driven by investments from Singapore, Thailand, Sri Lanka and other European countries. However, with growth shifting towards Asia, it is now shifting from being European driven to being more Asian driven, especially with China accounting for about 30%.”

Thus, he gave an open invitation for island nations such as Sri Lanka, Mauritius and Seychelles to be a part of their growth in the coming years.

Pic by Shehan Gunasekara