President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has stated that one of the greatest achievements of the past year has been changing the course of the economy without risking bankruptcy.

Speaking at the official ceremony marking his first year in office, President Dr Muizzu highlighted that the state debt exceeded 1 billion at the time of his assumption of office. Since then, the Government has implemented crucial measures to reverse the nation's downward economic trend.

The President emphasised that just six months prior to the current Administration taking office, an advisory report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) raised serious concerns about the level of state debt, even warning of the potential risk of default.

The President also noted that by 17 November 2023, Public Accounts overdrafts had reached MVR 8.4 billion, a situation that led international financial institutions to raise serious concerns about the Maldives potentially defaulting by April the following year.

While acknowledging that these concerns were not unfounded, given the interest payments on loans had risen from MVR 1.4 billion to MVR 4.2 billion over the past five years, the President highlighted that the country was allocating MVR 24 out of every MVR 100 in revenue toward debt servicing, with MVR 16 of that amount going solely to interest payments.

President Dr. Muizzu pointed out that the 2024 budget was passed by the previous administration, making the 2025 budget the first to be proposed by the current Government. He acknowledged that the current Administration did not have complete control over the prior year budget, but despite this challenge, it has taken decisive steps to reverse the downward trajectory of the economy.