A digest of news and opinion from the Maldives.
Ministry of Finance has instructed state institutions to pay overtime and public holiday allowances to employees who are working amid the ongoing state of a public health emergency. A circular, issued on April 9, signed by Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer was issued to state institutions regarding the overtime allowances, off-day allowances regarding the government closure. […]
Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) has revealed that the state revenue in March month has fallen by 26.9% in comparison to last year’s March month revenue. MIRA has stated that in the month of March the state has earned MVR 1.1 billion as revenue, and USD 49.2 million as dollar revenue. MIRA has highlighted that […]
Maldives Blood Service (MBS) has started a campaign called the “COVID-19 Blood Drive – Help end the blood shortage week long”. With the declaration of a state of a public health emergency, the public has been advised to practise social distancing and to minimize going out as much as possible. This has resulted in shortages […]
The World Bank report has estimated that the Maldives will fall into a steep recession with -8.5% growth in 2020 but also forecasts a strong recovery in 2021 with 7.3% growth. Growth is expected to contract by 8.5 per cent in 2020 as the COVID-19 outbreak dampens tourism and construction. As per the report, the […]
Velana International Airport (VIA) celebrates its 54th anniversary, today. Demonstrating social distancing and wearing masks, a flag hoisting event was held at VIA to mark the occasion this morning. The operator of VIA, Maldives Airports Company Ltd’s (MACL) Acting Managing Director(AMD) Mr Moosa Solih, Management Team & staff participated at the event. Speaking at the […]
Former Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed has suggested exploring different markets for free trade agreements (FTA) such as the EU, UK, and Gulf countries. In a recent tweet, Saeed has highlighted the FTA with China and Hongkong. He has noted in the FTA Maldives had the opportunity to buy-pack-export not less than 296 items at 0% […]
Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail has stated that the government is planning to reduce the level of imports to the country in the future. In a press conference, Minister has revealed that the government has selected 17 agricultural products to produce in the Maldives. He further added that the government has chosen 44 islands to advance […]
Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail has revealed that 837 expatriate workers have requested repatriation. Minister Fayyaz has stated that Bangladesh Civil Aviation has temporarily banned any expatriate workers residing the Maldives to enter the country, and due to that, the repatriation has been delayed. In addition to that only 130 expatriate workers have the passport and […]
STO’s Managing Director Hussain Amru has visited the Kashidhoo farms and revealed plans to initiate food security in the Maldives. In a tweet, Amru said, “So good to see enterprising farmers here and hoping we can help them sustain their livelihoods.” Amru further stated that reducing the dependency on foreign countries is essential for the […]