President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that he is hopeful Aasandha services will be made available in Thailand and United Arab Emirates (UAE) within this year.

President Dr. Muizzu had announced the initiative after concluding his official visit to China in January. He highlighted the initiative during his interview with PSM on Thursday.

"Administrative work is ongoing to arrange this. I am hopeful that we can commence the service within the year. We are targeting for that," President Dr. Muizzu said.

Speaking to the media in January, President Dr. Muizzu had said that instead of Aasandha being limited to certain countries, the administration has decided to expand it to other countries as well.

"We will hopefully expand Aasandha services to countries like UAE and Thailand, where people can get better services from. We will design Aasandha service to include accommodation as well," President Dr. Muizzu said.

Answering a question by an MP on Thursday, Social and Family Development Minister Dr. Aishath Shiham also provided information regarding the initiative. She stated that discussions are ongoing to determine the Aasandha coverage and models for UAE and Thailand.

She added that work is ongoing to establish policies to manage current Aasandha funds to include UAE and Thailand.