Attending the reception hosted by Ambassador of the United States to the Maldives Patricia Butenis to mark 235th Independence Day of the US, President Mohamed Nasheed thanked the US government for its support and assistance to the Maldives.

The President, sharing the US government’s concerns over human trafficking and expatriate labour issues in the Maldives, said the government has decided to “very vigorously act” to address the issue.

Highlighting the government’s action against human trafficking, the President said through these actions the government had uncovered “extensive rings of human exchange and dealings in unskilled labour.”

He said “this is an issue that we are concerned about. We want to respect human rights, we want to live in a dignified manner in the family of nations.”

“I do believe that our people will back the government in finding solutions to human trafficking and other issues related to human trafficking,” he added.

The President noted that the US had been a “very supportive partner” of the Maldives in trying to develop systems, methods, structures, institutions to deal with these difficult issues.

Furthermore, highlighting the Maldives-US relations on the international stage, the President said “the US has during the past year given us strength through its foreign policy engagements.”

Referring to the democratic movement in the Middle East, and the Maldives’ recognition of democracy movement in Egypt, the President said:

“In Libya, in Tunisia, in Syria, and the rest of the Middle East, we are working and we have our principles, our views and our visions. We are hopeful and we get strength because the United States has similar policies and we are able to work with them.”

In his remarks today, the President also noted the broadening of the US engagement in the Maldives to newer programmes.

“I think the people of Dhidhdhoo and the people of Hinnavaru will be extremely happy that they will be able to have fresh water through the United States assistance,” he said.

In addition, the President highlighted on changes and the progress in the country’s political climate since the last year’s US Independence Day reception in Male’.

He said that despite having issues that the opposition and the government were unable to agree upon, “as we go along, as we go on, we are increasingly finding these gaps are narrowing.”

He noted that since the last US Independence Day celebrations in the Maldives, the Parliament “have matured immensely.”

The President thanked the Speaker of the People’s Majlis for his leadership in “very difficult situations.”

On the economic reforms proposed by the government, the President said these changes “are as wide, and the depth of it, the substance of it, as great as the constitutional reforms that we brought, that have installed multiparty democracy here.”

Speaking in this regard, the President expressed his optimism that the government would be able to come out successfully with the economic reforms.

He said the government has the cross-party support and the support of a wider spectrum of the business community as well as a vast majority of the people for the economic reforms.

At today’s reception, President Nasheed announced the reopening of the Maldives Embassy in Washington.