بِسْمِ ٱللّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

 

In the name of God, Almighty اللهُ سُبْحَانَهُ وَتَعَالَى Creator of the worlds and mankind. Prayers and peace be upon Prophet  مُحَمَّدُ رَسُوْلُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ  and his family and companions.

Honorable Chargé d'Affaires of United Arab Emirates to Maldives Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulla Alhashmi, The President of the Civil Service Commission of the Maldives, Respected Officials from the United Arab Emirates, My dear Colleagues, Participants of the train the trainers program;

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ

It is my great pleasure on this bright sunny day joining all of you here in the conclusion of this programme, the “Train the Trainers for Front Liners.”

I would like to start by thanking from the deep down to the Government of the United Arab Emirates for the assistance and unwavering commitment provided to the development of the Maldivian public sector. I also extend my sincere appreciation to the trainers here with us from the United Arab Emirates, for the time taken and giving your knowledge to our most needy people here. And I would also like to congratulate and thank all the trainers who have taken part in this programme.

I see this as a front line. So front line, I mean it as first responders, and front liners make the first impression, which is very important. That is beginning of the service from anywhere a person goes. So it is very important that we give utmost importance to this area to start with.

Government of UAE, and the Maldives we have decades long partnership, a friendship. And have helped a lot in the development of the different sectors of the Maldives. This Programme was started this year upon a MOU signed in 2022. And we thank the Government of UAE for this support and corporation.

We praise the able leadership of the United Arab Emirates setting examples for the whole world. We know that the whole world is changing. Everything has to change, and this particular programme is designed to make people change. We saw a city; we saw a country that is far ahead of the rest of the world. That is 20 years, 30 years ahead. So we praise the important things that we can learn from these programmes is what others do. Our teams have also gone to the UAE and also have exposure trips, learn from the places they visit and from what they saw. So I hope that the previous batch of those who have gone to participate in the leadership programme would definitely benefit us. Likewise, I believe today what you have learned will benefit.

We have no time. We can wait for many, many days, many years. But if we really want to change, we have to give targets. To change, to make something efficient, to make a faster delivery of services in these places I think this type of things we can do even in 90 days. So I call upon all these participants those who have taken a part in this programme, try your best. Now that you have another responsibility. Your responsibility is to train others, to coach others, to teach others to guide others and to show the correct path. That is very, very important.

As I have said the world is changing, everything is changing. Mind-set, mentality, everything is changing. And people expect for fast delivery of service. People expect efficient services. We see a world, we see a city that is developing fast, rising buildings and so many things. 21st century, meeting the requirements of the 21st century. But the most important thing here is even if we have a beautiful hospital with all the diagnostic facilities, everything in place, full-fledged, most advanced, highly technological, unless we the people there to serve, if we don’t change ourselves, if we don’t upgrade, if we don’t update, if we don’t learn, it is not going to help. It might help to an extent. I won’t say that it will be a waste. But it is not going to serve the best for the people. So here we should believe. This Administration is focusing a lot on service delivery. Public service, public sector reform, and that’s what the President has pledged. So we have to give the service day and night, day and night, 24 hours, within minutes and these are not magic. We go to a ministry, wait for a registry, days, months, years, no. That was 40 years back. That was 60 years back. We write, we send letters that takes months to reach. Today, the moment we click on just it is in our fingertips. It goes all the way. So this is the expectation. So please my dear colleagues, a developing country, we can never reach until we have a team of people that is ready; prepared for this purpose. And I am told that there is more of these programmes and exposure trips coming up and I am 100% sure you are going to make the best use of this opportunity and this chance.

I thank Public Service Reform at the President’s Office and also Foreign Relations Office at the President’s Office for their efforts in organizing these programmes. And also for the Civil Service Commission and Commission members, Civil Service Training Centre and all those who are joining hands to make the place a better place for everyone. And I thank the Government of UAE and especially our esteemed delegation here sharing your knowledge and giving all what you can to make this place a better place for its people.

I thank you very much.