Wednesday
24th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Nasheed, Mohammed Bin Salman and President Solih.
Parliament Speaker former President Mohamed Nasheed has failed to deliver on his pledge to coordinate relief efforts for Sri Lanka.
Last month, Nasheed had taken upon himself to assist in assisting Sri Lanka to coordinate international relief efforts. The decision came after discussions between the Prime Minister and the Speaker in Colombo. Speaker Nasheed, the Prime Minister’s Office reported, had generously offered to assist Sri Lanka in securing relief from foreign nations.
On Monday, Sri Lanka’s opposition Member of Parliament Harsha de Silva took to media to highlight was being done to address the precarious financial situation in the country. De Silva said that the Government is unable to obtain necessary financial assistance, as they had burned all bridges with nations pledging aid.
De Silva revealed that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince, Mohamed bin Salman had questioned whether Sri Lanka had a concrete plan to address the current situation.
He said that Speaker Nasheed had contacted Crown Prince Mohamed as well. The Crown Prince had asked Nasheed not to bring up the matter until the country has a concrete plan to resolve the crisis.
A similar response also came from the ruler of United Arab Emirates (UAE) His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid Al Makhthoum. Sheikh Makhthoum had ruled out assistance unless Sri Lanka provides a list of assets that can be sold off.
This is the first time Nasheed had tackled the debt of any country – including his own. During his presidency, Nasheed, after multiple travels abroad would boast of securing millions. However, those millions are yet to be seen. His Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is ruling the country right now and faces similar problems in sourcing funding.
Nasheed and his Party notably have a very notable anti-Arab view. They had painted the Saudi royal family as supportive of terrorists. During the previous administration, MDP was leading the protest against the deal to lease Faafu Atoll to the Saudi royal family.
Once elected, the administration had attempted to repackage the Faafu atoll deal to the Saudi royal family. Reportedly, the administration planned to pitch this when they met the Crown Prince in Abu Dhabi in 2019. The visit only resulted in a few photo opportunities.