Minister Saeed Reports Progress in Dollar Sales and Investment Registrations

Minister of Economic Development, Tourism and Trade Mohamed Saeed has stated that progress has been made in the sale of dollars at investment and official rates over the past three years. He made the remarks while answering a motion submitted to the People's Majlis by 13 members of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) seeking a vote of no confidence to remove him from office. Minister Saeed said that the current government has sold 80% more dollars than the previous administration under President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih at the official rate. He reported that the outgoing government sold $1.75 million to the public at the official rate during its last three years, whereas this government has sold $1.9 billion so far. "The amount of dollars sold per month in these three years is approximately 97 percent higher than the amount sold per month during the last three years of the previous government," he said. The minister stated that in 2024, $483.53 million was sold at the official rate, and in 2025, $733.82 million was sold. So far this year, $718.53 million has been sold, representing an increase of 80%, he added. Minister Saeed also reviewed the number of foreign investments registered over the past four terms. He stated that securing 313 investments during President Dr. Muhammad Muizzu’s tenure constitutes a record. "212 investments were registered for 2008-2013, 406 investments for 2013-2018, and 245 investments for 2018-2022, while 313 investments were registered within these three years," he said. Additionally, Minister Saeed highlighted that difficulties in clearing goods arriving in the country arise due to the small size of the Maldives Business Port. He stated that this is the only government working to resolve this issue. He further said that the Ministry of Economic Development, Tourism and Trade is a model ministry in terms of information disclosure, noting that over the past two and a half years, in addition to responding to 192 articles, they have met with the media 184 times.