President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said that transitioning the Maldives away from its heavy reliance on foreign currency and establishing a financial system primarily dominated by the Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR) will require a structured, phased approach spanning around 10 years.
Speaking on the country’s economic outlook, President Muizzu emphasised that while transforming domestic financial operations into a MVR-centric framework is a long-standing ambition shared by successive administrations, achieving it requires careful planning and widespread institutional collaboration. He highlighted that the transition is deeply intertwined with international investments, sovereign loans, and existing global financial commitments, making rapid reform unfeasible.
"This is not something that can be done overnight. It is interconnected with investments made in the Maldives, loans, and all similar commitments. It is estimated that taking it all the way to that point will take a 10-year period," he explained.
Currently, the Maldives operates under a heavily mixed financial system where foreign currencies—most notably the US dollar—are widely used with minimal restrictions in an open-market environment. President Muizzu noted that this contrasts sharply with standard international practices, where most nations require foreign exchange to be converted into official local currency prior to completing domestic monetary transactions.
The President stressed that because foreign currency flows so freely throughout the local economy, dismantling the current framework without causing disruption demands meticulous, step-by-step evaluation. By categorising economic priorities and coordinating across all financial institutions, the administration aims to gradually reshape the framework over the next decade to strengthen the national currency and fortify the Maldives' overall economic sovereignty.