President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has said the government has so far repaid USD 1.3 billion in debt incurred by previous governments. He shared the information while speaking at the closing ceremony of the PNC Congress 2026.
In his address, the President said the repayments were an important step towards the government’s policy of eliminating debt and freeing mortgaged state assets. He said USD 50 million of such debt was repaid on Thursday.
Referring to calls not to discuss debts incurred by previous governments, the President questioned whether such parties wanted to deny that the debt existed. He said previous governments had taken on debt through various means, including mortgaging or selling state assets. The President said the government has already fully repaid USD 532 million in sukuk, explaining the government decided to repay the sukuk to free the state of debt and release mortgages.
According to the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises Hassan Zareer, the government has spent USD 648.5 million on debt repayment over the past eight months. He said this amount is more than the state spent on debt repayment during the previous nine years.