Saturday
27th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih. Photo: President's Office.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has hit back at critics of his economic policy, stating that any and all such criticism was politically motivated.
Speaking in the press conference held on Wednesday, President Solih was quick to downplay the current economic crisis.
He said that Maldives did not exist in a vacuum and that all international economic shocks will be felt in the Maldives as well. But, much of the talk on the economy is misconstrued and done so to raise public panic.
“Such reports must not be spread specially to achieve a political outcome. Its much more serious than that. We need to work together to overcome this,” he said.
His words came at a time when global financial institutions had warned of impending shocks to the country’s economy. Agencies such as JPMorgan and World Bank had expressed their concerns.
The government had previously pushed back on the warning from JPMorgan, stating that the warning was not the official stance of the agency.
While the President had downplayed the talk on economy, he did acquiesce that pandemic had taken a hefty chunk from the economy. Loans taken at this critical time had boosted the economy in that critical time, he said.
While the government is keen to downplay the status of the economy, the country’s economy remains tenuous. Debt is expected to hit MVR 100 billion mark in the coming months.