Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economic Development of Tuvalu, Honourable Panapasi Nelesone
Minister of Human Resources, Culture, Tourism & Development of Palau, Honourable Ngiraibelas Tmetuchl
Our Cabinet Ministers and Senior Officials,
Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives of Small Island Developing States,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
and a very good afternoon.
First of all, I extend a very warm welcome to all our distinguished guests who have travelled to the Maldives to be part of this important Forum.
It is a great honour for the Maldives to host this gathering of Small Island Developing States Global Business Network.
For too long, the story of Small Island Developing States has been told primarily through the lens of vulnerability, our size, our geography, our exposure to climate change, and the constraints imposed by them.
But vulnerability is only part of our story. The other part is our determination.
We are nations that have turned limitations into ingenuity, distance into connectivity, and challenges into opportunities.
It is this spirit of resilience and enterprise that is also reflected in the strength of our private sector. Micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises are the engines of SIDS economies, and often where our most practical ideas begin.
MSMEs innovate, create, and respond to the challenges that surround them, sometimes finding solutions that Governments may struggle to deliver on their own.
Our islands may be small.
Our markets may be small, too.
But our ideas do not have to be small.
An idea born on one island can reach customers, investors, and markets far beyond its shores.
For that to happen, however, entrepreneurs need an environment in which they can develop and test their ideas, the finance to build viable enterprises, and the connections to reach markets.
That is why the Maldives designated this year 2026 as the Year of Productivity.
And 2026, and 2027, as years of special focus on SMEs.
We are committed to putting in place the right policies, dedicated financing, and the digital infrastructure needed to help promising ideas grow into sustainable and successful businesses.
That is why we are also providing flexible financing through targeted loans for MSMEs in island communities.
This includes a loan scheme of 6.5 million US dollars for start-ups, with earmarked funding for women-led businesses. To date, that fund has supported close to 200 women-led businesses.
This also includes a Youth Entrepreneur Financing Fund worth 65 million US dollars, providing young entrepreneurs with greater access to capital to turn their ideas into viable and growing businesses.
But as we know, finance, is only one part of the ecosystem. Entrepreneurs also need the tools and networks to develop new products, services, and creative enterprises.
So, we are working to create a broader enabling environment for businesses to start, grow and invest, by improving access to finance, strengthening digital services, facilitating investment, and reducing the barriers that can constrain entrepreneurship and private-sector growth.
We are providing business development support, entrepreneurship programmes, and measures to help Maldivian businesses become more competitive and productive.
Our aim is to create an economy in which both Maldivian businesses and international partners enjoy conducive conditions to invest, innovate and grow.
We want to create opportunities for Maldivians at every level.
The participation of local businesses, entrepreneurs and workers remains an important part of our economic transformation.
So that the benefits of economic growth are more broadly shared across our communities.
We are strengthening opportunities for Maldivian businesses, including through sectors and activities reserved for local businesses.
And modernised our foreign investment framework through the new Foreign Investment Act, creating a clearer and more modern framework for attracting responsible foreign investment while safeguarding national interests and ensuring that foreign investment contributes to our national development priorities.
We plan to increase the contribution of the digital and creative economies to 15 per cent of GDP by 2030.
To that end, we are establishing dedicated regional cultural centres for heritage entrepreneurs, together with creator hubs where creative professionals can develop their work and grow their enterprises.
We are also using national platforms such as the Maldives Expo to encourage creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation, and to give Maldivian businesses and creators opportunities to showcase their products, ideas and capabilities.
Following the success of the first Maldives Expo, the second edition is scheduled to take place in October this year, bringing together businesses and creators from across the country.
We are working towards the country’s first Trade Acceleration Zone by 1 January 2027, to facilitate MSME growth and incentivize such companies.
Businesses must also be able to transact, access finance, and reach customers. We are expanding access to digital financial services for MSMEs, introducing home-grown digital wallets, expanding digital payment solutions including BML Swipe, and integrating PayPal – all in support of our creators, entrepreneurs and businesses.
These measures are helping MSMEs tap into the global digital economy, while creating opportunities to access finance faster, more simply, and in more modern ways.
To reach larger markets, we have established a direct channel between Maldives producers and international buyers through our strategic partnership with Authentic Maldives and Alibaba.
We are also expanding market access through trade agreements, including the Maldives-China Free Trade Agreement, the recently effective Preferential Trade Agreement with Türkiye, and ongoing discussions towards closer trade arrangements with India.
But connectivity is not only digital.
For an island nation, especially the archipelagic States, physical connectivity is equally important.
We are therefore improving our transport networks, expanding sea and air connectivity, and strengthening connections between our islands so that communities, businesses and people can move more efficiently and access opportunities across the country and beyond.
We have identified the digital economy and digitalisation as central to advancing our economy.
Through our Maldives 2.0 agenda, we are working to use digital connectivity to overcome the limitations of geography and scale — making government and financial services more accessible, enabling businesses to operate more efficiently, and connecting Maldivian enterprises and talent to global markets.
Digitalisation changes the possibilities available to a small economy. A product created on one island can find a buyer elsewhere, and a service developed for one community can reach another.
We are already seeing this potential reflected in new investments in digital infrastructure.
Google’s investment in subsea connectivity infrastructure in the Maldives demonstrates how global technology partnerships can help overcome the geographical constraints of island economies.
For SIDS, digital connectivity is no longer simply a communications issue; it is economic infrastructure that can enable trade, financial services, tourism, creative industries, education and new forms of employment.
Our scale can therefore become an advantage. SIDS can serve as laboratories for innovation and incubators for ideas, technologies, and solutions.
The challenge is turning that creativity into economic opportunity.
That requires investment not only in ideas and enterprises, but also in the infrastructure that enables them to succeed.
This is why we are investing in strategic infrastructure to expand our connectivity and productive capacity, including the development of the Thilafushi International Port, which will strengthen our logistics and maritime capabilities while creating new opportunities for trade and investment.
Renewable energy is another area where we see both a national priority and an opportunity for investment and innovation. We are advancing large-scale renewable energy projects, including floating solar, as we work to strengthen energy security, reduce our dependence on imported fuel, and build a more sustainable economy.
These investments reflect a broader ambition to build an economy that is more diversified, digitally connected, resilient and open to responsible private investment.
Excellencies,
The Global Business Network brings together entrepreneurs, investors, international buyers, technology providers, financial institutions, and business partners around opportunities emerging from SIDS.
This forum can help move these opportunities from ideas and early-stage enterprises to investment, technology partnerships, commercial relationships and access to global markets.
It can also enable successful ideas and solutions developed in one SIDS to reach another more quickly, allowing our countries to build on each other’s experience.
We have seen the value of this in our own experience. The Maldives has invested in adaptation, strengthened resilience against the impacts of climate change, and integrated nature conservation into our development projects.
In many cases, we have learned through trial and error. Sharing those lessons allows other SIDS to build on what works without repeating the same process.
Forums such as this allow those lessons to move more readily among our countries.
We should also look beyond traditional investment flows. There is significant potential for SIDS-to-SIDS investment, partnerships and technology transfer. A solution developed for one island context can often be adapted to another, allowing us to scale innovation into markets that share similar challenges.
The Maldives has continued to advocate for greater investment in SIDS, particularly in adaptation and resilience, where investment can generate significant economic returns.
I am therefore honoured that the Maldives is hosting the inaugural Island Investment Forum. The Maldives is home to international investments ranging from industry to infrastructure, which have generated benefits for our people and for investors.
We continue to welcome investors and partners who are prepared to grow with us — bringing capital, technology, expertise and access to markets, while creating lasting value for our people and our economy.
Investment in SIDS is a strategic investment in innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth.
For too long, the investment conversation around SIDS has focused primarily on our vulnerabilities and constraints. These realities are important, but they are not the whole story.
Our countries are also markets for innovation, renewable energy, digital services, tourism, logistics, climate solutions and new forms of enterprise.
We must also unlock the potential of the blue economy, from sustainable fisheries and marine tourism to maritime services, technology and innovative approaches to financing conservation.
I therefore call on OHRLLS, working with SIDS, to develop this network into the central platform connecting promising island ideas and enterprises with finance, technology, partners, and markets.
Governments must create environments in which entrepreneurs can succeed. Financial institutions and investors must expand access to capital. Technology companies and international businesses must open new connections and markets. Academia and civil society also have an important role in bringing knowledge, expertise, and networks to this effort.
The Maldives reaffirms its commitment to supporting the full implementation of ABAS through stronger cooperation among and within the private sectors of our countries, and through greater investment in SIDS, especially in adaptation and resilience.
Our islands will remain small, but with smart investment, they can become powerful sources of ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurship that the world needs.
Let us give those ideas every opportunity to reach the world.
I thank you all.