The Maldives National Chamber of Commerce (MNCCI) is deeply concerned by the recent statements made by various Maldives’ international partners in connection to the ongoing political strife in the archipelago.
First and foremost, the chamber wishes to highlight the great strides Maldives has made in the past few years to instill true democratic values. Despite continued political tension, Maldives’ path to democracy, quite remarkably has been achieved without violence and bloodshed in contrast to most of the other countries in the region. However, being a 100 percent Islamic country, Maldives understandably, has limitations and the type of democracy it can embrace.
The chamber would also like to note that as an important development partner, the United Nations (UN) assistance to the Maldives has failed to address much needed economic sustainability when conducting aid programs in the Maldives.
Democracy is diverse and unique to each country anywhere in the world. But sadly, the chamber cannot ignore the numerous times Maldives has been judged unfairly by the international community.
As various international bodies and prominent western countries issue statements that are biased and do not reflect the actual situation in the Maldives, they have multiple implications on the country’s fragile economy and paints an inaccurate and flawed picture in the eyes of potential investors and tourists which in turn causes irrecoverable harm to local businesses.
In this regard, the chamber implores Maldives’ valued international partners to be responsible and assess the actual political situation in the country before issuing harshly worded statements that indirectly proves to be detrimental to the country’s economy and curtails much needed development.