President Solih: Measures will be taken this year to control value to Maldivian Rufiyaa

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that the government will be taking the necessary measures to resolve the foreign currency crisis and contain the value of the Maldivian Rufiyaa this year.

He made the remark whilst delivering the annual presidential address at the opening sitting of the Parliament for the year 2022.

President Solih noted that 2021 ended with with the Maldives achieving more than the aspired target in tourism. The target had been one million tourists, however over 1.3 million tourists visited the Maldives last year.

In reference to the fact, he said that productivity for 2021 is expected to be between 31.6 percent and 38.5 percent – which is higher than what was forecasted for the Maldives by International Financial Institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

President Solih also highlighted the fact that IMF has forecasted Maldives to be among the top five economies globally expected to grow the most this year.

“The government forecasts a 12 percent increase in Maldivian GDP in 2022 and a total of 1.6 million tourists visiting the Maldives this year,” he added.

Speaking further, President Solih noted that the state reserve stood at SD 791.2 million at the end of 2021. He also stressed that the legal framework relating to the foreign currency market will also be amended.

“The government will be taking measures this year to resolve the foreign currency crisis and contain the value of the Maldivian Rufiyaa,” he had said.

In addition to this, President Solih said that many loans taken out by the government has now been paid back – detailing that USD 250 million swap facility from the Reserve Bank of India in July 2019 to help manage the State reserve last year. He also noted that this administration has has paid off USD 447 million in debt incurred by the previous administration.