Local

Quest’s World of Wonder Features Maldives.

Published

3 years ago

30/05/2021

MNN

The Maldives is featured in the latest episode of Quest’s World of Wonder, as CNN anchor and correspondent Richard Quest arrives in Maldives to explore the secrets of the island paradise. The 30-min special episode will help promote Maldives as a ‘safe haven’ destination and showcase the variety of unique experiences available in the Maldives while shedding light on key figures of the Maldivian tourism industry. Visit Maldives supported Richard Quest and the crew of ‘Quests World of Wonder’ during their filming in Maldives.

Quest’s World of Wonder is a popular TV show premiering on CNN international where news anchor Richard Quest travels to landmark locations around the world, explores popular tourist destinations and meets with influential locals in order to provide an insight into the region’s heritage and culture.

The episode begins in Maldives with Richard Quest arriving at Kurumba, the very first resort opened in the Maldives. At Kurumba, he will meet with founder Mohamed Umar Maniku and discuss his vision for the resort nearly 50 years ago and the challenges he faced while creating what would become a defining identity in Maldives.

Afterwards, Quest meets with the former president of the Maldives and current speaker of parliament Mohamed Nasheed who made headlines throughout the world during his presidency for his environmental protection policies and awareness.

Quest will then board a sea plane and fly over the turquoise waters of the Maldivian island arriving in the remote island resort of Reethi Beach where he will embark on a fishing expedition with the resort manager Denise Schmidt and her husband Ali Amir. The adventure concludes with Quest meeting “the Godfather of Maldivian diving”, Hussain Rasheed, the first PADI course director in the country. Rasheed will take Quest snorkeling while sharing his belief that only through a snorkeling mask can one truly begin to appreciate the beauty of marine life and how it ties to the DNA of the Maldives.

Additionally, Visit Maldives carried out a promotional campaign with CNN in 2020. During this campaign, Destination was promoted via “5 reasons to Insta love Maldives” vignette and a video showcasing the luxury offerings of the destination, followed by the launch of “30 seconds of calm Maldives”, which showcased the serenity of the destination. Prominently, the destination has been featured on the CNN weather watch which substantially reaches a large audience across the globe. The main objective of this campaign is to promote Maldives as a “safe haven” and highlighting the importance of protecting the delicate environment of the country.

For this year on the global platform, Visit Maldives has currently been carrying out joint campaigns with Expedia and TripAdvisor. Visit Maldives together with the Ministry of Tourism has also recently launched the “I’m Vaccinated” campaign in order to share a positive message regarding the vaccination of staff working in the tourism sector as well as promoting the initiatives undertaken to ensure the Maldives remains one of the safest destinations in the world for travelers.

Maldives has welcomed a total of 298,570 travelers by March 2021. India, Russia and Ukraine are currently the top three top source markets. The steady increase in the arrival figure indicates a healthy recovery of the tourism industry and the Maldives is on-track to achieve pre-pandemic arrival figures.

Local

Nasheed to form new party

Published

11 months ago

17/05/2023

The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s leader Mohamed Nasheed has decided to form a new political party.

Nasheed initiated a separate political movement within MDP, ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’, following his loss in MDP’s presidential primary held back in January. After major conflicts with the government and its policies – all lawmakers from the faction tendered their resignation from MDP on Wednesday.

The move came after Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim was expelled from the party on Tuesday and banned from rejoining for at least one year over involvement in opposition political activities surrounding the Chagos archipelago dispute.

The 12 members who resigned from MDP on Wednesday are;

Parliament’s Deputy Speaker, North Galolhu MP Eva Abdulla
Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed (Wadde)
North Maafannu MP Imthiyaz Fahumy (Inthi)
West Henveiru MP Hassan Latheef
Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb
North Kulhudhuffushi MP Yasir Abdul Latheef
Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef
Central Maafannu MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde)
Madaveli MP Hussain Firushan
Thoddoo MP Hassan Shiyan (Gita)
North Mahchangoalhi MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu)
Gadhdhoo MP Ahmed Zahir
All 12 members are close acquittances of Nasheed. MP Hassan Latheef, during a meeting at Bodufenvalhuge on Wednesday, announced Nasheed’s decision to form a new political party. The meeting was attended by supporters of Nasheed.

Should Nasheed form a new political party, that party would be the largest opposition party in terms of members in the parliament, thereby, the minority party. The minority party at present, opposition PPM-PNC coalition has only eight members in the parliament.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

Local

MPs loyal to Nasheed leave MDP

Published

11 months ago

17/05/2023

Multiple members of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) loyal to the party’s leader Mohamed Nasheed have left the party.

The members who resigned from MDP include 12 MPs. They include Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, MP Mohamed Waheed, MP Imthiyaz Fahmy (Inthi), MP Hassan Latheef, MP Ilyas Labeeb, MP Yasir Abdul Latheef, MP Hassan Afeef, MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bonde), MP Hussain Firushan, MP Hassan Shiyan, MP Mohamed Rasheed (Boadhigu), and MP Ahmed Zahir.

They submitted their resignation letters Wednesday.

The move comes after MDP’s parliamentary group had requested action against Inthi, Hassan Latheef, Ilyas, Yasir, and Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim earlier this week, for forming an alliance with the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Jumhoory Party (JP) and Maldives National Party (MNP), after accusing the government of failure to protect the interests of the Maldivian people in the case lodged with the International Tribunal of the Law of the Seas (ITLOS) over the disputed maritime territory between Maldives and Mauritius.

The party’s disciplinary committee decided to expel Azim from the party on Tuesday.

They are all members of Nasheed’s ‘Fikuregge Dhirun’ faction.

However, Nasheed has yet to resign from the party.

Despite the resignation of the 12 MPs, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih continues to hold full control of the Parliament with 56 MPs.

Source(s): sun.mv

Local

The Cambodian Prime Minister arrives in the Maldives on an official visit

Published

1 year ago

15/01/2023

The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen, arrived Sunday morning on an official visit to the Maldives at the invitation of H.E. President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It is Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen’s first visit to the Maldives.

The Cambodian Prime Minister and accompanying delegation were received at Velana International Airport (VIA) by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid (ODRI). The government will hold a ceremony on Monday to officially welcome the Cambodian Prime Minister to the Maldives.

During the visit, President Solih would meet with Samdech Techo Prime Minister Hun Sen and hold official talks on strengthening bilateral cooperation, followed by the exchange of memoranda of understanding (MoUs) between the two countries. President Solih and the Cambodian Prime Minister would also deliver a joint statement on the outcomes of their discussions.

The Maldives and Cambodia established diplomatic relations on September 21, 1995.

Source(s): President Office.