Administrator Samantha Power signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Marriott Maldives Business Council, an affiliate of Marriott International, Inc., in which USAID and the seven Marriott International resorts in Maldives will explore how to improve mutually beneficial collaboration with local islands and expand economic opportunities for their residents. This new agreement is part of the Sister Islands partnership under USAID’s Democracy Delivers initiative, which works to strengthen democracies globally by helping them demonstrate tangible dividends for citizens.
Working together, Marriott Maldives Business Council and USAID will foster engagements between resort islands and local island councils, women’s development committees, and island private sector actors to bring economic, social, and environmental benefits to local island populations with a focus on maximizing opportunities for women and youth. Potential examples of these opportunities include tourism excursions on nearby inhabited islands, increased resort employment of local island residents, joint waste recycling efforts, locally sourced agriculture products, and more.
USAID is facilitating the alignment of the resorts’ commercial interests with sustainable development goals by helping local islands partner with the private sector to the benefit of both. By joining with a private sector partner, USAID is expanding its development reach and helping the private sector develop long-term, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnerships.