Saudi Arabia on course in big Maldives investment program
Mohamed Shainee, the Asian nation’s minister for fisheries and agriculture, tells Arab News how economic ties between the two countries are stronger than ever
with luxury property owned or run by the Four Seasons, Jumeirah and One & Only groups, in conjunction with local partners.
Apart from development, the other vital issue, in which Shainee also has a special interest, is the environment. The islands are among the lowest inhabited places on earth, with an average height of only 1.5 meters above sea level, and the inhabitants of the populated 187 islands face constant threat from rising sea levels.
The Maldives was among the first countries to bring the issue of rising sea levels to world attention in the 1980s, but Shainee is optimistic that solutions to the seemingly intractable problem are at hand.
“Climate change is of course a very serious issue, but I do not think we can worry too much about rising sea levels. It is true that we are very low lying, but look at the Netherlands. There a lot of the country is below sea level, but it has survived,” Shainee said.
He is hoping that the Maldives can promote its own kind of solution to environmental problems from the international stage. The country has been on the UN human rights and climate change councils in the past, and is currently lobbying to join the powerful UN Security Council. The country also chairs the international Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
Shainee believes that there are other things that can be done to alleviate the effect of rising sea levels. “It is essential to promote healthy oceans and sustainable fisheries, which gives the coral and sea life a change to adapt to the new environment,” he added.
He was speaking from the heart. He is the son and grandson of fishermen, and began his career as a fisherman before entering government service. Shainee retains a close affinity with the oceanic world, and is proud of his postgraduate work in Norway and Canada in new techniques for fisheries protection. The Maldives is a leading member of the UN coalition to save shark species, and has declared the islands a no-fishing zone for endangered sharks.
In the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, when 80 percent of the islands had been underwater and 60 percent of the economy was affected, Shainee was charged with distributing financial aid to parts of the far-flung islands by boat and sea-plane, with a suitcase full of currency handcuffed to his wrist.
“The islands were very badly affected, but there was a comparatively low loss of life. We are a seafaring people and we knew instinctively what to do,” he said.