Maldivians in SL are well: MoFA

Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reported that all Maldivians living in Sri Lanka are well.

Deep financial and economic crises, protests, and incessant calls for Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to step, boiled down to citizens storming the official residences of the President and the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had tendered in his resignation on Saturday. Rajapaksa has said that he will resign on Wednesday.

When questioned about the status of Maldivians living in Sri Lanka, Foreign Ministry’s Communications Director Miuvan Mohamed said that all Maldivians living there are well.

The Ministry did not divulge whether Maldivians have asked for assistance.

Sri Lankans have been protesting since April, demanding for solutions for the economic crises. Shortages of food and fuel have pushed inflation past 30 percent. Regular power cuts and medicine shortages have decimated the health system.

In May, the country declared a sovereign default. The government pointed blame at Covid, while economists and general public say economic mismanagement is the reason. Major tax cuts implemented in 2019 and widespread crop failures stemming from a ban on imported chemical fertilizers exacerbated the issue. An IMF report in March this year said the fertilizer ban (reversed in November 2021) also hurt tea and rubber exports, leading to "potentially substantial" losses.