Maldives is a valued member of ADB- Sultan Hafeez

Sultan Hafeez Rahman, Director General of Asian Development Bank (ADB)'s Pacific Department has said that Maldives is a valued member of the Bank since the country joined ADB in 1978.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the “Consultative Meeting on Strengthening SAARC’s Institutional Mechanism” held yesterday morning, Sultan Hafeez said that ADB has been providing assistance to the Maldives over a long period of time.

The Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department also said that ADB has renewed the commitment to assist Maldives in the development and progress of the country.

Sultan Hafeez also expressed his gratitude to the special envoy of the President, Ibrahim Hussein Zaki and the present Secretary General of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Fathimath Dhiyana Saeed for visiting ADB to build on the relationship ADB has with SAARC and the government of Maldives.

“As a result of these visits we were requested to partner the government of Maldives and the SAARC Secretariat for the past two days. And we strongly support regional cooperation and integration which is written in our Charter and we take this commitment extremely seriously,” he said.

Furthermore, the Director General of ADB’s Pacific Department said that ADB has been involved in supporting regional cooperation in the entire Asia Pacific region for a long period of time.