Massive foreign mission cash drain bleeding millions every month!
18 އޮކްޓޯބަރު 2026 | އާދީއްތަ 08:43Operating 21 Maldivian missions abroad incurs an average monthly expenditure of MVR 24.4 million, with the High Commission in Malaysia accounting for the highest costs. Significant expenses are also attributed to the missions in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka, whereas the Consulate in Jeddah records the lowest expenditure.
During the President's visit to the High Commission of the Maldives in Malaysia on April 29, 2025, records indicated that the High Commission in Kuala Lumpur incurred the highest expenditure through September 2026. | President's Office
The state continues to funnel an eye-watering average of USD 1.5 million every single month into keeping the lights on at its network of embassies and diplomatic outposts scattered across the globe.
Taxpayers are on the hook each month for a hefty tab that covers day-to-day operations, payroll for embassy personnel, and sprawling administrative overhead across the world. Looking at the tally for the year so far, more than MVR 220 million has evaporated into sustaining this global diplomatic apparatus.
Official foreign service accounting details, reluctantly unveiled after RaajjeTV submitted a Right to Information (RTI) filing to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expose that by 30 September 2026, the state had poured exactly MVR 220,333,378.89 into 21 foreign posts. Converted to U.S. Dollars, that translates to a staggering USD 14,288,805.38. Breaking down these grand totals shows that sustaining overseas operations burns through roughly MVR 24.4 million, or USD 1.5 million, every month.
Leading the charge in lavish spending is none other than the High Commission of Maldives situated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. That single office burned through MVR 22.9 million (USD 1.4 million), which equates to a monthly cash hemorrhage of roughly MVR 2.5 million. Not far behind in second place sits the mission in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, racking up MVR 17.9 million (USD 1.1 million). Claiming the third spot on this high-cost roster is the outpost in Colombo, Sri Lanka, swallowing MVR 17.2 million.
Details of expenditures incurred by diplomatic missions abroad as of September 30 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs | Foreign Ministry
The spending spree hardly slows down elsewhere. The outpost in Bangkok, Thailand consumed MVR 15.5 million; the New York station in the United States absorbed MVR 13.7 million; Singapore burned MVR 13.2 million; and Geneva ran through MVR 12 million. Meanwhile, offices stationed in both Tokyo, Japan and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia each managed to cross the MVR 11 million threshold.
At the very bottom of the ledger sits the Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, registering the lowest drain on public funds. By late September, it had logged MVR 2.8 million (USD 184,492), requiring a comparatively modest monthly average of around MVR 316,000. Further up from the bottom, the office in Islamabad, Pakistan consumed MVR 4.6 million, and the mission operating out of Dhaka, Bangladesh generated MVR 5.3 million in costs.
The standard institutional justification claims these global embassies exist to extend consular support to Maldivian citizens living in or traveling through foreign territory, while simultaneously championing national interests across international platforms. However, the public is increasingly waking up to the reality that tangible returns are completely out of touch with these exorbitant price tags. Observers rightly point out that despite this relentless flow of state cash, national foreign policy shows precious little sign of making any meaningful headway.
