Author: Mohamed Reehaan

Maldives President, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih departs on Sunday, 16th October, for K. Kaashidhoo. The Maldivian head of state is traveling to the island to attend activities held to mark the National Farmers’ Day and World Food Day. President Solih declared National Farmers’ Day on 15th October 2020. President Solih will attend the official reception and special banquet to mark the occasion. The reception will be held at Kaafu Atoll Education Center. He is also expected to visit an exhibition held at the center, as part of the activities and meet with local farmers. Moreover, he will hold meetings with members…

Singapore Airlines has announced its plan to upgrade flight capacity to the Maldives route. Following the hiatus of flight operations owing to Covid-19 outbreak. Singapore Airlines resumed their operations late in 2021. Singapore Airlines is currently operating their Boeing 787s to Velana International Airport (VIA). In a bid to increase the airline’s passenger capacity to Maldives, Singapore Airlines will add Airbus A350s to the route effective from 30th October. The Airbus flights will operate once on every Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday each week. The Boeing 787s hold a passenger capacity between 240-300, whereas their Airbus counterparts hold between 300 to…

British flagship carrier, British Airways launched their direct flight operations to Maldives. The airline has started their direct flights to the island nation, ahead of Maldives tourism peak season. British arrivals mainly reach Maldives through partner airline Qatar Airways during off-peak tourism season. The airline will be operating four flights per week. The airline confirms daily flights will start from 30th October 2022. British Airways began their direct flight operations in 2015 coinciding with the peak season. The island nation is a favorite among British tourists, testament from annual arrival count. According to the most recent update from Ministry of…

Bank of Maldives (BML) has awarded its top performing employees, at the Staff Awards 2022 on 14th October. The event was held at Social Center on Friday evening. The bank recognized the performances of its best employees, who were awarded for their previous year’s performance. Accolades include; Hassan Aqleem (North Cluster Manager) and Mohamed Ashraf (Head of People Development) – Employee of the Year Award Fathimath Farihath Waheed (Head of Cards and Payment Governance), Abdulla Sobah (Senior Manager, Premium Banking) and BML Mobile App Team – CEO’s Award for Outstanding Achievement Mohamed (Public Relations Manager) – Best Leader Award Ali…

The latest update by Maldives Customs Service revealed total imports to the state for September 2022 increased by 27%, which amounts to MVR4.4 billion (including fuel). Moreover, imports excluding fuel rose by 25% which translates to MVR3.5 billion. Despite significant increment in imports, exports showed a decline. Customs confirmed exports declined by 4%, which amounts to MVR166 million. Major import categories; Fuel (marine gas oil – diesel, petrol, aviation gas) – MVR958 million Food items (excluding pork, alcohol, tobacco) – MVR773 million Machinery & mechanical appliance; electrical – MVR738 million Base metal and articles of base metal – MVR449 million…

Bank of Maldives kicked off their Innovation Lab Hackathon on 14th October, Friday at Jen Maldives Male’ by Shangri-La. The hackathon event kicked off with over 30 participants. According to the leading bank in the Maldivian nation, the hackathon is held under the theme of developing ‘Banking Solutions to Enhance Customer Experience.’ Individuals and teams registered for the 48-hour hackathon will compete to develop innovative fintech ideas and solutions, to enhance customer experience and operational excellence. Three winning teams will be selected to go to the Bank’s Innovation Lab. The teams will develop their winning ideas over a six-month period.…

Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer confirms state budget for 2023 will exceed MVR 41 billion. The minister made the declaration during Thursday’s press conference. Moreover, the minister claims this was a rough figure as the actual amount cannot be declared amid ongoing budget analysis. “We estimate the budget for the state for 2023 will be above MVR 41.5 billion,” he said adding, “the budget will reflect fiscal strategies for the following year.” With elections slated for 2023, the administration is vying against time to complete major developmental projects that have been state pledges. Budget approval post amendments at the parliament…

The design of the One-Time-Password (OTP) screen has changed with the recent update of Bank of Maldives (BML) payment gateway. Customers are expected to observe this change in the following days, said BML. The current payment gateway bears a white screen. Following the upgrade, the bank also urged its customer base to refrain from sharing OTP details of transactions. Moreover, the bank has brought changes to the security bypass interface for online transactions using American Express credit cards. With this update, customers have to enter a four-digit code to verify AmEx based online transactions. This authentication code is reflected on…

The Maldives has been nominated for the most prestigious title at the 29th Annual World Travel Awards (WTA). Maldives has been nominated in “World’s Leading Destination” category, for the third year in a row. The island nation secured the title earlier in 2020 and 2021, making this a potential “hat-trick” win for the country, which is celebrating its tourism golden jubilee. WTA’s “World’s Leading Destination” title is the most distinguished in the annual program, which itself is renowned as the most prestigious and comprehensive award in the global travel industry. Maldives won the title for the past two years, despite…

FlyDubai announced the airline will be launching direct flights to Addu City Gan, effective from February 2023. According to FlyDubai CEO Ghaith Al-Gaith, the operations will commence exactly on 04th February 2023, with daily flight landings. “Maldives is a highly preferred holiday destination among Middle-Easterners, as well as people around the globe. In the coming days, Europe and Addu City Gan will be connected via FlyDubai,” he added. This is also the first-ever direct flight route beween Dubai and Gan. Business class and economy class fare for the route begins at USD1,600 and USD550 respectively.