Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) Governor Ali Hashim has said that the current situation may result in the GDP rate dropping to -9%, if the Maldives continues to see no new tourist arrivals.

Talking about the worst case scenario for the Maldivian economy, Governor Hashim noted that several steps have been identified to be taken in response to such a situation.

The governor noted that the estimated drop in GDP rate to -9% was identified after looking into how the Global Financial Crisis and the 2004 Tsunami had negatively affected the Maldivian GDP.

During the 2004 Tsunami, the Maldivian GDP dropped by about 17.7% while during the Global Financial Crisis the GDP saw a drop of almost 7.7%.

The governor noted that if the GDP drops to -9%, the situation would worsen a lot. In such a moment, the country would be left to depend on foreign aid and to work on stabilising the economy once again.

The government is currently working hard to secure foreign aid during the Covid-19 pandemic. State had previously estimated a budget deficit of MVR 12 million due to Covid-19.