Minister of Economic Devolopment, Transport and Trade Mohamed Saeed has said the Maldives has made progress in attracting investment and supplying US dollars at the official exchange rate over the past three years.
The minister made the remarks while responding to a no-confidence motion submitted to Parliament by 13 opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentarians, seeking his removal from office.
Speaking during the parliamentary sitting, Minister Saeed said the current administration had supplied more than 80 percent more US dollars at the official exchange rate than the government of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
He said the previous administration supplied USD 1.75 billion to the public at the official rate during its final three years, while the current government had supplied USD 1.9 billion so far.
The minister said the government supplied USD 483.53 million at the official exchange rate in 2024 and USD 733.82 million in 2025. A further USD 718.53 million had been supplied so far this year, representing an increase of 80 per cent, he added.
Minister Saeed also presented figures on foreign investment registrations across the past four administrations, saying the 313 investments registered during the current administration's first three years represented a record.
He said 212 investments were registered between 2008 and 2013, followed by 406 between 2013 and 2018. A further 245 investments were registered between 2018 and 2022, compared with 313 during the current administration's first three years.
The Economic Minister also highlighted challenges in clearing imported goods, attributing delays to capacity constraints at the Malé commercial port. He said the current administration was the only government working to address the issue.
The minister further described the Ministry of Economic Development, Trasnport and Trade as a model ministry in terms of transparency and public information.
He said that over the past two and a half years, the ministry had responded to 192 requests under the Right to Information (RTI) framework and held 184 engagements with the media.