Finance Minister: 2026’s budget will save Maldives from debt

The MVR 64 billion state budget proposed for next year is one that will save the Maldivian people from debt, said Finance Minister Moosa Zameer on Thursday afternoon, as he presented his budget statement to the Parliament.

The MVR 64.2 billion budget proposed by the Finance Ministry is the highest one on record yet – surpassing this year’s budget by MVR 7 billion.

Addressing the Parliament in the afternoon, Zameer said the 2026 budget includes multiple measures to restore fiscal and debt sustainability.

“It will save the Maldivian people from the huge debt this administration inherited, and will be the cornerstone to realizing President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s vision for development through careful policies without burdening the future generations,” he said.

Zameer added that next year’s budget will also provide sustainable solutions to key basic needs such as healthcare, education, and energy.

He said that the budget will also help realize key national development goals.

Speaking on the plans to generate revenue, Zameer said the government plans to raise MVR 16.8 billion next year, through loans from foreign partners, through sale of financial instruments such as bonds and sukuk, and through multilateral and bilateral financing.

“Through our measures policies to repay sukuk without getting further into debt, the government has put the Sovereign Development Fund back in order, and made it a fund that is managed in dollars. Even now, we have over USD 100 million shored up in this fund for the important purpose of repaying debt. We plan on using a specific portion from the funds deposited to the Sovereign Development Fund to repay the refinanced debt,” he said.

Zameer said that the projected revenue streams for next year includes USD 450 million or MVR 6.9 billion that will be secured from the external market to refinance sukuk, USD 300 million or MVR 4.6 billion in budgetary support from bilateral partners, and another MVR 5 billion from domestic financial institutions.

According to Zameer, MVR 4.2 billion will be taken from the Sovereign Development Fund to repay debt.