Malé, Maldives – President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed that over the past two years, the Maldivian economy has sustained a damage of an estimate MVR 71.3 billion.
President Solih’s statement came during his national address on Sunday night where he announced the revoking of the state of medical emergency in the country, and added that Maldives was believed to sustain the biggest loss during the Covid-19 pandemic when world economies were coming to a stand still.
Even during that situation, the government’s efforts were towards minimising the public’s burden. The government assisted the public in various ways with in its capabilities.”
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, 2022
He further detailed that as such, discounts on water and electric bills were given and that income support was also provided to those who lost their jobs or had pay cuts as a result of the pandemic. Additionally, extensions on loan repayments and small loans were provided to businesses with the condition of not terminating employees, as well as providing social protection to those in need, President Solih stated.
However, despite the loss, the President highlighted that Maldives is listed by experts among the top five countries most likely to experience the biggest boom in the economy this year. He attributed this to the positive reaction and compliance of the Maldivian people with the Covid-19 curbing protocols set forth by the government. He also spotlighted the efforts of the Maldivian people and specially the business entities in the country which relentlessly worked on restabilizing the economy.
The biggest motivation for all that was the immense sacrifices made by all our medical front-liners. The exemplary work done by the Maldivian soldiers and Police, other organisations and volunteers,”
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
He also thanked the allies of the country who provided assistance at times of need, in the name of all Maldives. He specifically mentioned India, Japan, America, UAE, China, Bangladesh as well as WHO and branches of the UN.
President Solih extended special appreciation to India and stated that the country not only donated the most number of vaccines to the Maldives, but also purchased 250 million dollars in bonds to minimise the damage to the country’s economy and also donated various medical equipment to the Maldives as well. He also mentioned the travel corridor arranged by India to allow inbound tourism to the Maldives and special accommodations made to allow Maldivians to enter India for medical purposes.
The Maldives has ended the medical state of emergency effective Sunday and has also revoked the mask mandate unless in health care facilities or islands with an above 20 percent infection rate.
