President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said that he places special priority to reducing the cost of travel and emphasized that he is not interested in traveling first class.
While addressing local media at Velana International Airport (VIA) upon his return to the Maldives after concluding trips to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), President Muizzu stated that he would disclose expenditure details of his state visits within the next 15 days.
In this regard, President Muizzu affirmed his commitment to maintain low travel cost.
"I have already instructed the Chief of Staff and the Minister [of the President's Office] that neither the Vice President nor I wish to travel first class. However, we did not receive any business class tickets this time, and the [President's Office staff] informed us that there is no other option. They said that both my security officer and I need to be booked for first class," President Muizzu said.
President Muizzu reiterated that both he and Vice President Hussain Mohamed Latheef would not book anything beyond business class for any future trips.
He further stressed that instead of extravagant traveling, he prioritized seeking progressive benefits for the Maldives through his travel abroad.
The President also said that before leaving on the state visit to Turkey, he assessed which officials should be included in his delegation. He highlighted that accommodation charges were not incurred during their stay in Turkey.
In addition, accommodation expenses were arranged for a portion of his delegation in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where President Muizzu visited to attend the COP28 summit.
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