بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid,

Minister of Higher Education, His Excellency Dr. Ibrahim Hassan,

Honorary Consuls of Maldives,

Distinguished Guests and Ladies and Gentlemen;

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

And a very good morning.

It gives me great pleasure to inaugurate the first-ever Honorary Consuls Scholarship Programme in the Maldives. Let me begin by extending my utmost gratitude to our Honorary Consuls for their active participation and support in the socio-economic development of the Maldives.

As Honorary Consuls, you continue to play a critical role, not only in the delivery of consular services to Maldivian citizens abroad, but also in promoting our economic and cultural interests and representing Maldives and Maldivian values in your countries.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Our nation is home to a large youth population, with over 43 percent the population between the ages of 18-35. For these young men and women, quality education is the necessary tool that would allow them to live up to their dreams. It is only through education that we will be able to realize our dreams of a more democratic, wealthier and a more sustainable Maldives, Simply put, education is the great enabler.

It is for these reasons that our administration has committed to building generations of educated and skilled youth, who are responsible, creative and ready to tackle the challenges of nation building. We started the “Free Education Scheme for Degree Students” with this ambition at the Maldives National University in 2019.

I am happy to note that over 12,000 students have enrolled in undergraduate studies through this programme of which, 2,000 students have already completed their degrees. We have increased the number of scholarships and facilitated low interest student loans for higher education.

Our administration is determined to provide even more scholarship opportunities under public-private partnerships and provide free higher education opportunities to at least 20,000 students by the end of 2023.

We are tasked with the enormous responsibility of shaping the hearts and minds of our future generations. It is imperative that we create responsible and responsive citizens, and focus on building the leaders of tomorrow who would decide the course of our beloved countries.

I strongly believe that this new initiative will give renewed momentum in the ambitious development agenda of the Government of Maldives and more importantly, pave the way for our youth to pursue higher Education, from renown institutions across the globe.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Before I conclude, I would like to once again thank all the Honorary Consuls for their generous contributions to the scholarship programme and I am confident that we will be able to achieve our ambitious development targets with the generous support from our friends and partners across the globe.

Thank you all!