New Year Message from British Ambassador to Maldives James Dauris
With the year drawing to a close it鈥檚 a good time to take a look back at 2017 and at some of the things we鈥檝e done over the past 12 months. It鈥檚 also worth taking a moment to reflect on the opportunities and challenges 2018 will bring for our two countries, and on what will be important to us and what we would like to achieve in the months ahead.
The relationship that the Maldives and the UK enjoy is long-standing. We are connected through history, through shared interests and concerns and, perhaps most importantly, through people.
This year British tourists have again made a very important contribution to Maldives鈥� economy. This year around a hundred thousand British holiday makers have visited your extraordinary country and I鈥檓 sure they will have enjoyed it. Of course a few people fall sick or get into difficulties and we are again grateful to the Maldives police and coastguard for the consular support they have given us during the year.
Education has long been an important tie for us. I鈥檓 pleased that this year we have again been able to help talented young Maldivians to study at prestigious British universities through our Chevening scholarship scheme, and it鈥檚 great that we were able to sponsor a local journalist to join journalists from around South Asia for some training.
On a quite different theme, the threat from terrorism is one that countries around the world face today, Maldives and the UK among them. We鈥檝e done some great work this year with the Maldivian authorities on aviation security issues. And we鈥檝e provided training for security managers of resorts all around the country. I鈥檓 looking forward to more of this sort of cooperation 鈥� sharing best practice and working together helps to keep us all safe.
We have continued to support important work that is being done in Maldives on women鈥檚 issues. Through the year I鈥檝e really enjoyed meeting lots of people, men and women, in Male and on other islands who share my belief that our societies are better off when women and girls are able and encouraged to participate in all sorts of activities, including in business and politics.
Both as British Ambassador and as someone who has grown fond of your country over the two plus years that I鈥檝e been in my position, I鈥檝e seen things that worry me happen too. The freedoms to speak, to write, to meet, to justice, to choose are ones that should really matter, to all of us. We are hoping that we will see these freedoms start to flourish again in the coming year.
Since I was young I鈥檝e had a strong interest in the environment and in effective conservation. In Maldives, beauty and environmental fragility go hand in hand. Experiences of countries around the world show us that coral reefs destroyed are impossible to replace, areas of mangrove bulldozed almost impossible to re-establish. It鈥檚 because the Maldives are so unspoiled that many people choose to visit. Going forwards I think that getting the balance between economic interest and conservation is one that will need careful thought and principled decision-taking.
Looking to 2018, everyone will agree that one of the most important events is going to be the presidential election. Almost every Maldivian I meet tells me of their hope that the election and the whole election process will be fair, and that voters will have a real choice and a free choice. In the UK, we share that hope.
I trust that you will share my wish that, in Maldives, in the UK and around the world, we will see values that make our societies peaceful and prosperous, tolerant and fair, prosper in the year ahead, and our communities grow stronger and happier for it.
May I wish you success and happiness in the coming year.