During the fifth episode of the Rayyithunnaa Eku podcast, the President revealed that in order to make the Maldives 2.0 a success, a draft of the necessary legislations to support the initiative is currently being prepared.
The President's Office
On 20 March 2025, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives shared a cryptic post on X, featuring a short video containing just one message in both English and Dhivehi: “Maldives 2.0.” The post quickly gained significant traction across the country, sparking widespread speculation and anticipation. Many citizens began discussing and evaluating what the phrase could signify, with growing expectations that it hinted at a major new initiative or development project by the government. Almost one and a half months since, the government is now ready to unveil the much anticipated ‘Maldives 2.0’ – which President Muizzu stated is the government’s vision for the future of the Maldives.
Maldives 2.0 (@digitalgovmv) is our vision for the future—a Digital-First Maldives built for every citizen, every island, and every generation to come. These 8 pillars shape how we build, connect, govern, protect rights, promote transparency, and restore trust in public institutions.
With this post on X, the President provided a link that finally unveils the vision behind the Maldives 2.0 project - an initiative by the President, which charts a reformative digital transformation whereby all state institutions work in tandem towards providing prompt, safe and transparent services to the public. This project, which would be implemented in the next three years, would see revolutionary changes, placing digital transformation at the core of governance and service delivery.
What is Maldives 2.0?
According to the digital.gov website, Maldives 2.0 is the President’s national vision for digital transformation. Maldives 2.0 is set to reshape how the government serves, how the economy grows, and how public services, opportunity, and essential information reach every Maldivian, across every island.
Maldives 2.0, which aims to make the Maldives a digital-first nation, reimagining how the state works for its people. To turn this vision into reality, Maldives 2.0 is set to function under six guiding principles that are set to keep the government focused on what matters – each principle reflecting the President’s belief that digital transformation must be people-centred, transparent, and accountable by design.
These six principles of Maldives 2.0
To ensure the success of Maldives 2.0, the digital transformation pillars guide a coordinated, policy-led, and platform-driven approach to transformation. With this, the Maldives can shape how we build, connect, and govern in the digital age.
Maldives 2.0 functions under eight different pillars
Adding more context to what Maldives 2.0 could mean for the future of the Maldives, President Muizzu stated that this could be the next step in eradicating corruption.
Maldives 2.0 is the biggest step to eradicate corruption in the state system. A system that gives every citizen complete control and empowerment of their data. Two-sided, fast, lightweight, high-quality system. The system that will move the Maldives up several places in the list of countries with low corruption. The system will also raise the country several places in the Press Freedom Index. This is the goal that the people want. In the journey to achieve this goal, we will move forward close to the people, with the people. I also call on the political opposition to participate in this journey responsibly.
During the fifth episode of the Rayyithunnaa Eku podcast, the President revealed that in order to make the Maldives 2.0 a success, a draft of the necessary legislations to support the initiative is currently being prepared. According to the President, the work towards the four-year digitalisation project will be carried out in collaboration with Estonia, a country that is renowned for its digital advancements.
The official launch of the Maldives 2.0 initiative was unveiled during the Maldives Digital Transformation Summit, hosted from 9-11 May at Barceló Nasandhura Maldives. During the Rayyithunnaa Eku podcast, the President revealed that the inauguration conference event will be attended by a team of Estonian experts, including one of the pioneers of Estonia’s digitalisation efforts.
In essence, it appears that Maldives 2.0 is a declaration of intent, acknowledging the global shift toward digital governance while tailoring it to the unique context of a small island developing state. By embedding principles such as “transparency by design” and “inclusive by default,” the vision moves away from a top-down tech deployment model to one that is grounded in democratic values and citizen empowerment. The Maldives government, through Maldives 2.0, is working on achieving the digital transformation that Estonia has accomplished in 25 years, within four years.
