Governor of the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Ali Hashim has stated that the challenges facing the financial sector should be identified and policies must be changed to mitigate them. He made the statement while addressing the Maldives Finance Forum 2022 organised by the Maldives Pensions Administration Office (MPAO). The forum was held at Kurumba Maldives.
Speaking at the forum, Governor Hashim said one of the biggest challenges faced by the country was the COVID-19 pandemic and that the financial sector has played a major role in changing the direction of the economy and maintaining its vibrancy. He said the country's productivity has increased by 17% during the pandemic and more than 10% or about USD2 billion has been disbursed throughout the country.
Additionally, Hashim said the main objective of MMA is to maintain financial stability, identify risks to the financial system, understand its ability to deal with risks, and implement policies to safeguard the health of the financial system. He said the role and cooperation of the private sector are important for the development of the economy and the financial sector and that this can be done by strengthening trade relations and economic growth in various sectors.
Furthermore, Hashim mentioned the efforts being made by MMA to further strengthen the financial sector of the Maldives. He said that a new regulation will be shared with the relevant authorities to launch the services of the long-awaited Instant Payment System (IPS).
The theme of this year's Finance Forum was Financial Infrastructure Development. Senior officials of MPAO, other government offices, and private companies involved in the financial sector participated in the forum.