President Muizzu: Keeping Maldivians in Their Homeland Is Government's Highest Priority

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said that ensuring people do not have to leave their own homeland due to climate change is the work the government is carrying out with the highest priority. The President made the remarks while speaking at a meeting held as part of the COP31 Summit currently underway in Türkiye, addressing the risks posed by rising sea levels. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said rising sea levels are not a distant danger but one already faced by the Maldives' development and safety. He said the islands are not merely land but important places connected to Maldivian identity and history. "The loss of even a small amount of land area is a humiliation that will be faced by our sovereignty, independence, culture and future," the President said. He said that as the dangers of climate change grow for the Maldives, the government's highest-priority work is what must be done to ensure people do not have to leave their homeland. In that regard, he said beaches, reefs and lagoons are the greatest defense of the islands, and the government is working to protect and safeguard them. He also noted that scientific information and financial assistance are needed to carry out those efforts most completely. The President said the government is carrying out much work to build a resilient Maldives, with modern cities being built higher than sea level. "We are developing Rasmalé. That place is a city being developed higher than sea level, and in that environmentally friendly city, only renewable energy will be used," the President said. He said measures to protect against climate change must be taken not when dangers arise but must necessarily be included in development plans, and that this is the work given the highest priority in the Maldives' journey toward becoming a developed country. In his speech, the President reiterated that international assistance is needed for the Maldives' work to protect against climate change.