Education Minister Dr Ismail Shafeeu has said civil servants can play the most important role in eliminating corruption from the state system.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of this year's Civil Service Conference at the Social Centre, Minister Shafeeu said financial corruption cannot occur without administrative corruption, placing significant responsibility on public sector employees to uphold integrity in government institutions.

"There can be no financial corruption without administrative corruption," he said.

The Minister said that by working efficiently and professionally, civil servants can help eliminate administrative corruption and ensure public funds are used responsibly to deliver the best possible services to citizens.

"If administrative corruption is eradicated from our country, we will become offices that are faithful to the people's money, to provide the best service with the people's money and satisfy the people," he said.

Minister Shafeeu said civil service employees can make the greatest contribution towards freeing the Maldives from corruption.

He also urged government agencies to continuously assess and improve the services they provide, noting that strengthening service delivery would help maintain public trust and reduce opportunities for corruption.

According to the Minister, one of the key objectives of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's Maldives 2.0 initiative, which focuses on digitizing government services, is to reduce corruption and improve transparency.

There are approximately 35,000 people employed in the civil service, including contract staff, representing about one in every 15 people in the Maldives.