CIIC: Mr Latheef, we know you are the first ambassador to China, please talk about your feeling when you first got this commission.
M: China has been always special to me. I always have soft affection for China and Chinese people. In fact, my first travel out of my country is to China. This was several years ago, long before you were born. So I have very deep affection for this country and the Chinese people. When our government decided to open an embassy here, my minister asked people like me, I was possibly the first person to raise my hand, and said “yes, I would go there.” I have the best gracious to be here, in China. Because, in my childhood, I had the opportunity of visiting here. In a period of several years, I have seen how the country has developed, how the country has changed over the years, what has been China able to do in the thirty or forty years since my first time came here? So this is the country I have been looking forward to, I feel very honored and privileged to be the first ambassador to China. We just opened our embassy last year.
CIIC: As you’ve mentioned, you’ve to china when you were young, what’s the biggest difference you think between then and now.
M: Well, everything is different. When I said I came here ago, it was the last 70s, in fact 1973, so between now and then, it’s totally a different country, except for some historical buildings, it’s hard to say anything has not changed; but again, the Chinese people here has always been very friendly, very hospitable to us foreigner, we have always felt looked after here, to an extent, even spoiled by hospitality of Chinese people. So everything is very positive, I think the changes that came about have been always very positive.
CIIC: In fact, not only your foreigners, even our Chinese people could feel the rapid development. I want to know, what your primary mission is during your term.
M: My priority is to strengthen the corporation between the two countries over a long period of time, even before we established our formal diplomatic relations that is 36 years ago. At the government to government level and the people to people level, my objective is to strengthen and expand the corporation which we already have. And I would also spend much of my time to promote my country here, to Chinese people; at the same time, to help Maldives to know more about China, because I believe only to increase the people-to-people contact, we can bring the two countries closer.