Re:

how is it shaping up? what are the biggest hurdles.

Hi,

The campaign team is starting to come together. We are continuing discussions with Jim and tomorrow we will meet him face to face on skype. We will brief him on the situation here so that he will be able to advice us more effectively. Already he has sent some very useful suggestions and we are working on them.

Getting the right people to head various aspects on the campaign is difficult here but we should be able to pull the team together shortly.

We will need some more help from Ian and Rory because we are still weak on international communication. Some old negative stuff keeps coming up in the Guardian newspaper in England. But most of the international media is not paying much attention to Maldives right now.

I have asked Rory to help find a full time communications guy to stay here for about a year to work with me. He doesn't have to be an expert, just a good graduate student would do. Some really positive stuff is also happening now and we need the world to know about them.

World Energy Forum and CGI guys are here. I am meeting Clinton people in a few minutes.

I have some funding now but will ask all friends to help raise more later when things start happening in full swing. Election is now scheduled to early September.

Hope all is well and look forward to seeing you here in the not too distant future.
Warm regards,
Waheed

Hi,

Would be great if Lisa could visit us. She sounds like the right person to help us get organized.

my friend in sweden, lisa svensson, would be perfect as your right hand orgainzing your team,, she has diplomaitc experieince and is currently amabssador to the oceans for sweden

also be advised that thorbjorn jagland is a great friend.

I remember meeting Jagland at your place when I came with Sultan.

Sent from Windows Mail

as chairman of the council of europe , he is really mr human rights, Im sure that if he can be of help, he will

Jeffrey,
Need your advice.
My finance minister is telling me that he has an anonymous funds manager who is willing to deposit 4 billion dollars in Maldives and that they are willing to lend a percentage of that in exchange for government promissory notes. The 4 billion would be deposited in the Central Bank. But they want us to set up a special purpose vehicle, a construction company fully owned by the government to receive the loan. Such a company can only be set up under a presidential decree.

I am also told that the funds manager would be charging Maldives upfront a certain percentage of the amount lent.

I don't feel I have enough information on this. I don't know who is this funds manager. They always want the finance minister to meet them in Bangkok or some place outside. Why would anyone want to deposit such a large amount here when we don't have a credit rating and public debt is so high. I feel very uncomfortable about this.

What do you think I should do. I am very uncomfortable. In addition to the finance minister, a leading politician and leader of the coalition parliamentary group is behind it. He could be my leading contender for presidency.

Does this sound all ridiculous to you. I have a strange feeling about this whole thing.
Best regards
Waheed

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