Minister Mohamed Saeed,
Ministers,
Mr. Shadi Qawasmi, Managing Director and CEO of Ooredoo Maldives,
Mr. Ahmad Al Naema, Regional CEO of Ooredoo Group.
Mr. Amir Valliani, Vice President of PayPal APAC (Asia-Pacific Division of PayPal),
Mr. Khalid Al-Hamadi, CEO of Ooredoo Fibre Networks,
Our young creators, innovators, and digital pioneers,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today marks a historic milestone in the digital transformation of the Maldives. This achievement is the fulfillment of a clear, definitive commitment I made to my fellow citizens long before taking the oath of office.
Today, we deliver on that promise.
To our young creators and innovators sitting in this room, and to those joining in from afar:
I remember the conversations we had about the challenges you faced. You spoke to me with incredible passion about your designs, art, and your businesses.
But you also spoke of a deep and exhausting frustration.
For many years, you were told that the global digital economy was something you could only participate in from the sidelines. You were told that because our market was small, full integration was commercially impossible.
The reality was unfair: you could send payments abroad, but you could not fully receive them.
You could buy from the world, but you could not easily sell your talents to the world.
Your ambition was consistently held back by systemic barriers that had absolutely nothing to do with your capability.
That era of artificial limitations ends today.
When I took oath of office in November 2023, we refused to accept that geography should dictate opportunity. We refused to accept that a Maldivian creator must remain invisible to the global banking system.
Today, through the tireless efforts of my administration and through our partners, the seamless integration of PayPal services in the Maldives opens a new chapter in our economic history.
My fellow citizens,
As monumental as today is, I want our young pioneers to look at this achievement not as the destination, but as one of the pearls on the ocean, connecting us to our broader national ambitions.
PayPal is the strategic infrastructure for a much larger blueprint.
All of our efforts are guided by Vision 2040, our roadmap to transform the Maldives into a fully developed, high-income nation.
We cannot achieve this goal by relying on traditional sectors alone. True diversification requires us to build entirely new pillars of growth from within, and we have established a clear, mandatory milestone to guide this journey: by the year 2030, our digital economy must contribute at least 15 percent to our national GDP.
This is exactly why we secured our landmark agreement with Google to bring the world-renowned Dhivaru international submarine cable project directly to our shores.
This landmark infrastructure investment was a core focus of my direct discussions with Google executives on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2024. We conveyed a clear message: the Maldives is ready to host some of the world’s most advanced digital infrastructure and to serve as a trusted hub in the global digital landscape.
By introducing world-class connectivity alongside trusted global brands like Google and PayPal, we are signaling to international markets that the Maldives is a sophisticated, predictable frontier for global capital.
This digital transformation is spearheaded by Maldives 2.0, a mainstream, whole-of-government policy directed directly through The President’s Office to ensure absolute institutional alignment.
Every single government agency, ministry, and state-owned enterprise is now working to fully embrace this digital transition:
to cut through red tape,
to eliminate slow manual procedures, and
to replace bureaucratic delays with transactional efficiency.
Distinguished guests,
A digitally empowered state must, by definition, be an efficient, open, and accessible state.
Our commitment to a modern governance model is driven by our determination to make public services seamless and transparent for our citizens and international partners alike.
By embedding modern data integration and cutting-edge financial infrastructure across our national bodies, we are structuring a secure and highly responsive business ecosystem.
We are building a system designed explicitly to protect your hard work, respect your transactions, and give you a clear, unobstructed path to scale your business internationally.
To our creators, programmers, freelancers, and designers:
We do not just want you to participate in this digital revolution.
We want you to drive it.
To make sure your voice shapes national direction, we established the Creative Economy Council, which actively includes representatives from our Youth Council so that young e-commerce entrepreneurs are directly steering policy.
We are actively cultivating a spirit of global enterprise within our youth and our local industries.
We are backing your enterprise with concrete, targeted financial tools through tailored programs and microfinancing options to remove barriers in access to capital, so that you can scale your ideas into viable products and build your companies.
We are building physical spaces to match your digital access. Our flagship Creator Hub building in Male' is currently under rapid construction and will officially open its doors on November 11th this year Insha'Allah, providing access to state-of-the-art production studios and co-working spaces designed explicitly for you.
To ensure that our cultural heritage and traditional craftsmanship scale globally alongside our digital economy, we are building dedicated regional facilities, including a lacquer work training center in Baa Thulhaadhoo and master handicraft centers in Gaafu Dhaalu Gadhdhoo.
This integration is equally important for our visitor economy.
Last year, the Maldives welcomed more than 2.25 million visitors and generated over USD 5.6 billion in tourism revenue.
Tourism remains the backbone of our economy. Yet the future of tourism is not only about who arrives on our shores. It is also about who can reach global customers before they arrive.
You may ask, what does this look like in practice from today onwards?
It means a guesthouse operator can market experiences and receive deposits directly from international travelers.
It means a dive school can secure overseas bookings with confidence.
It means a local artisan can sell authentic Maldivian products beyond our borders.
And it means a boat operator can reach customers around the world.
And it means a freelance developer can build complex software from their laptop, launch it globally, and see the financial reward deposited securely into their account.
Geography will never again limit your economic destiny.
Distinguished guests,
We have designated this year, 2026 as our National Year of Productivity.
This is a purposeful call to action.
We want every citizen to leverage these new global networks, and turn local ingenuity into international brands.
I want Maldivians to envision a future where unique products from every single corner of our country are sold directly to the global marketplace.
Whether it is an exquisite piece of traditional lacquer work crafted in the North, a sustainable agricultural product grown in the South, a designer working from Addu, or a digital innovator in Malé, Maldivian excellence must seamlessly enter the international economy.
Ladies and gentlemen,
For centuries, our ancestors connected the world across the seas. Scattered across a vast, unpredictable ocean, our islands stood apart from the world's great landmasses.
Yet, from these very shores, using only their courage and their understanding of the stars, they ventured into the unknown.
They navigated great oceans, linked distant civilizations, and built a proud maritime heritage that is forever woven into our national identity.
Today, we continue that exact same legacy in a modern way.
We are no longer confined by our geography, and our physical isolation will never again define our economic limits.
For centuries, our ancestors connected the Maldives to the world through the sea.
Today, we connect our people to the world through the digital economy.
Today, that promise becomes a living reality.
Let me extend my profound gratitude to the leadership of PayPal and to the leadership of Ooredoo for believing in the Maldivian dream, and in the capabilities of our people, for choosing to be our strategic partners on this historic journey.
Let me also thank the diligent teams across the Ministry of Economic Development, Transport and Trade, the Maldives Monetary Authority, and other institutions that worked tirelessly behind the scenes to cross this finish line.
To our entrepreneurs, freelancers, creators, and dreamers:
The door is open.
I urge you to step forward.
Build boldly.
Create with absolute confidence.
And innovate without limits.
Take your rightful place on the global stage, because the future belongs entirely to those who seize opportunity.
This is Maldives 2.0 in action—not a promise for tomorrow, but a commitment delivered to you today.
Thank you very much.