Report: Ayya
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has laid the foundation stone of the new National Museum complex, in a ceremony held at Sultan Park this morning.
The new building to house the National Museum is being constructed under Chinese Government aid.
Speaking at the ceremony, the President thanked President Hu Jintao, the Government and friendly people of China, for gifting the new building. He said that the new National Museum would be “yet another lasting monument of the close friendship and development co-operation between the Maldives and China.
President Gayoom emphasized that China is one of the key development partners of the Maldives, and noted that the Chinese Government had supported national development program and projects in many important sectors.
National museums were prominent landmarks that preserved and portrayed a country’s rich history and cultural heritage for future generations Said President Gayoom.
He recalled his tour of the National Maritime Museum of Lisbon, during his recent official visit to Portugal, and noted the importance of carefully preserving and documenting a country’s historical places and artifacts.
President Gayoom said that some of the best historical sites in the Maldives could be found in the Atolls, and emphasized the need to invite the country’s growing tourist holidaymakers to visit these beautiful sites. He announced that the Government was deliberating on introducing a number of measures to increase this aspect of tourism.
Chinese Ambassador to the Maldives, Ye Dabo stressed that Sino-Maldives relations were today on a very strong footing, and highlighted that the two countries had enjoyed close bilateral and development ties for many decades. He expressed his confidence that the new National Museum would lead to the further warming of relations. Further, Ambassador Ye focused on some of the key areas of China’s development assistance to the Maldives.
In his welcome speech the President of the National Centre for Linguistic and Historical Research, Abbas Ibrahim thanked the President for making time from his busy schedule to attend the ceremony, and highlighted that the President’s presence at the ceremony was evidence of his keen interest in preserving the historic and cultural landmarks and artifacts of the Maldives.
Following the laying of the foundation stone, President Gayoom was briefed on the floor-plan of the new Museum.
The new Museum complex will consist of two buildings bordering Sultan Park. The buildings will be to the east and west of Sultan Park.
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