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President dedicates Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in memory of former Foreign Minister Fathulla Jameel

President dedicates Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in ... Image 1

 

15 July 2021

A Special Ceremony was held this morning, to dedicate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in memory of the late Uz. Fathulla Jameel, Order of the Distinguished Rule of Izuddin (O.D.R.I). The honour was solemnised by the President of the Republic of Maldives, His Excellency Ibrahim Mohamed Solih who unveiled the name of the building as “Fathulla Jameel Building” as well as a special plaque placed inside the building, in recognition of Uz. Fathulla Jameel’s long and distinguished service to the nation.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Solih said that today was historic day for the Maldives Foreign Service, following the renovation of the foreign ministry building which had been underway since 2019. The President congratulated the Foreign Service and its members for their hard work, dedication and undeterred commitment to serve, even during the most arduous times in the midst of a pandemic, to ensure that the Maldives engaged globally to secure vital supplies, medical equipment and most importantly, vaccines. He thanked the current Foreign Minister, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid, for his leadership of the Service during his tenure and reaffirmed his confidence in Minister Shahid for his invaluable efforts in engaging with the international community and in further enhancing the Maldives’ own diplomatic outreach and its relations with the outside world.

Minister Shahid thanked President Solih for his decision to honour the life of Hon. Fathulla Jameel. He praised former Minister Fathulla Jameel as a visionary whom he had the honour of serving with as a junior Foreign Service Officer. He said that the foundations of the modern Maldivian Foreign Service was established and promoted by Fathulla Jameel, who always believed that a small country like the Maldives, should have a professional, skilled and efficient diplomatic service that could promote international relations, trade, tourism and our interactions with the international community.

The twin daughters of the late Uz. Fathulla Jameel, conveyed a video message on behalf of the family, that expressed the importance their late father attached to the Maldives Foreign Ministry and the Maldivian Foreign Policy during his long and illustrious tenure. Today’s ceremony was also attended by the Vice-President His Excellency Faisal Naseem, Chief Justice Uz. Muthasim Adnan, Deputy Speaker of the People’s Majlis Hon. Eva Abdulla, members of the Cabinet, the Diplomatic Corp, former and present members of the Maldives Foreign Service.

Hon. Fathulla Jameel became the Foreign Minister in 1978 and went on to serve until 2005, becoming the longest serving Foreign Minister in the Maldives, and one of the longest serving in the world at 27 years of service. He was educated in Al-Azhar University in Cairo, and prior to becoming the Foreign Minister, also served as the Permanent Representative of Maldives to the United Nations in New York. He passed away in 2012 at the age of 69.

The Foreign Ministry building was first designed by Hon. Fathulla Jameel in the early 2000s, and construction of the complex was completed in 2005. Renovation of the existing building commenced in 2019 and was handed over to the Government of Maldives in early 2021. The initial construction and renovation of the building was done with the assistance of the Government of the People’s Republic of China.