Minister of Foreign Affairs Iruthisham Adam has said that anything negative that is said about foreign investments in Maldives will affect relations and that it is something that should not be done.

The minister said this during an interview to Mihaaru News on Monday while gesturing to the negative conversations surrounding the major Rasmale' project that will be headed by United Arab Emirates (UAE) company Eagle Hills.

While speaking on the Faafu Atoll project that was meant to move forward during former President Abdulla Yameen's administration with the aid of Saudi Arabia and the rumors spread by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at the time, the minister stated that the project had to be stopped. Minister Adam, who was in the Cabinet back then, said that after that incident, Maldives was only able to restore decent diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia due to a great amount of effort.

"Bilateral foreign policy will also be disrupted. It affected our diplomatic relations with that country. Because of that, I believe that relations with such Islamic nations and Arabic countries would not benefit a 100 percent Islamic nation such as Maldives," said the minister.

And so, Adam said that obstructing any benefit that can be gained for Maldivians must not be done by speaking about personal gain.

According to the minister, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz caused by the unrest in the Middle East would greatly and negatively affect the Islamic nations that offer the most aid to Maldives. She highlighted nations such as Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. These are countries that helped Maldives develop Velana International Airport on many occasions.

"If those nations are in a difficult position, obtaining aid for Maldives will be difficult as well. All of our essential commodities are imported. This is also an issue. When looking at this through this lens, the most important thing for us is to bring investments for Maldives' sustainable development," said Minister Adam.

The minister went on to say that there was a major debt when the current government took office and that the debt was being paid off during the early stages of the government. She said due to this and in order to maintain a positive picture on how others view Maldives, the current government prioritizes paying debts without defaulting.

As per the minister, accomplishing President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's development plan while paying such a massive debt is only possible with investments and foreign aid.

"First of all, the Rasmale' project is a mega project. The developing countries in this region recognize that. When I was in New York for the United Nations' (UN) meeting, those countries recognized it as a major investment. There were questions about how an investment of that scale was attracted," spoke Minister Adam about the major USD 12 billion project by Eagle Hills in Maldives.

She stated that the investment was brought over due to the improvement in Maldives' market in comparison to how it was before, and she highlighted that Eagle Hills continues to share information.

Adam said that there should not be any "jealousy" or disruptions to Maldives' foreign relations just because a certain group wants to govern the nation or because a certain group brought the investment in.

"That is not acceptable in the slightest," said the minister.

She went on to say that increasing the rate of conversations about the Eagle Hills project and publicizing information is due to the success of President Muizzu's vision. She also said there will be further discussions in the future.

"I do not believe that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu would discuss or negotiate an investment of this scale in a way that is restrictive to Maldivians, that would violate the Constitution, that would not include the interests of Maldivian citizens or that would not include benefits for Maldivian citizens," said Adam.

"The current government was elected with a Maldives First policy for its citizens."