Maldives needs youthful spirit to move forward, insists pres

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said that a nation needs to be driven by youthful spirit, insisting that the nation’s powerhouse is fuelled by its youth’s ambition, determination, and zeal.

Speaking during the Youth Award 2016 function on Wednesday President said that everyone had equal chance of making it to the top if they worked with conviction and determination.

He pointed out that success was not a right of a privileged few, and that all children who were counted amongst the “average” also had the potential to contribute to nation building, and that their input was equally important for the future of the country.

"The country needs a crime free youth, who respect others, put forward the rights of others, and support each other’s progress," president said.

President Yameen stated that reaching the top was hard, and that maintaining the role model status was even harder.

He said that the government believes in the youth to be the leaders who shape “the Maldives’ right now, the Maldives’ tomorrow, and the Maldives’ future”.

Highlighting the priority this government accords to youth development, the President stated that all government projects for the next 25 years too, must be targeted towards facilitating a brighter future for the youth, and fulfilling their needs.

Reiterating his electoral pledge, the President said that this administration aims to walk hand in hand with the youth to ensure a brighter future for them.

Continuing on, the President noted that one of the main goals of the administration was to encourage more youth into entrepreneurship, and lauded the successful ‘Get Set’ Youth Entrepreneurship Program initiated by the Government in 2014.

In this regard, the President said that the increase of guesthouse tourism in all parts of the country provides a wide range of jobs for the youth. He also assured that the Government fully supported the industry, saying that this was to ensure more opportunities for the youth via integrated tourism development projects and guesthouse tourism industry.

In his speech, the President further noted that it was his promise to facilitate creation of 94000 jobs by the end of his 5-year term, and stated that current statistics projected numbers much higher.

He said that the administration would continue to provide opportunities for the youth, and reminded that making use of the chances was up to them.

The President also underscored that the jobs created at different levels by the administration were created for Maldivians, who were the rightfully entitled.