Following is the text of the Prime Minister’s speech at the foundation stone ceremony of the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies.

``Today, we embark on a significant joint enterprise of capacity building in the tourism sector of Maldives.

Excellency,

Even in my brief stay in your country, I have been truly impressed by the prominence which Maldives has achieved on the international tourist map. It is a remarkable success story that you attract to your resorts twice the number of foreign tourists as your total resident population.

Undoubtedly, nature has blessed you with spots of great scenic beauty. But the rest of the story is entirely man-made. You have built a tourist infrastructure of world standards. You have maintained political stability and a law and order regime, which protects the safety and security of the tourist. And finally, you have kept alive your tradition of warm and friendly hospitality towards your guests.

It is entirely logical that you should now seek to establish a qualified faculty to indigenously develop specialized managerial capabilities in the hospitality sector. India is proud to join you in this project.

The Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies is expected to be established in its new premises within 3 years. However, knowing your keenness to create skilled capacity urgently, I have asked our Minister of Tourism to work for the early commencement of the training courses. If this suits your requirements, and if some temporary premises can be found, the first courses of this Faculty could commence within a few months from now.

Excellency,

Our development cooperation with Maldives already has two strong pillars in the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital and the Maldives Institute of Technical Education. We hope that the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies will soon join them as a third pillar of the strong India-Maldives development cooperation.

Thank you.’’