MDP Chairperson Demands Transparency Over Government’s Dhivaru Deal With Google
MDP’s Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail during a party congress meeting on August 6, 2025 | Photo: MDP
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail has called on the Government to disclose full details of the recently signed agreement with Google, stating that the lack of transparency risks undermining the Maldives’ long-term digital sovereignty and economic potential.
In a post on X, Fayyaz said the former Government had rejected earlier proposals from Google because they posed risks to “national digital sovereignty”, local value creation, and long-term competitiveness. He argued that moving ahead now without public clarity could weaken strategic advantages that the Maldives had been working to build.
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Google’s Dhivaru cable confirms and validates what we worked for in MDP government. Our vision to capitalize and take advantage on the strategic location to make Maldives a true ICT hub linking Africa, the Middle East, Asia & Australia. Our digital-economy vision aimed to… https://t.co/HN8PjYEV3r— Fayyaz Ismail (@faya_i) November 18, 2025
He further said that the newly announced Dhivaru, a project which would enhance digital connectivity for the region, subsea cable, validates the digital economy vision developed during the former MDP administration. He said the party’s strategy aimed to transform the Maldives into a major ICT hub connecting Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia, while diversifying the economy beyond tourism, closing broadband gaps, supporting e-government services, and developing an ICT export industry capable of contributing 35–40% of GDP.
He warned that ceding control over key digital infrastructure could reduce foreign-exchange opportunities, limit capacity-building for Maldivians, and derail efforts to develop a new economic pillar. “By giving away control of this sector, we lose strategic leverage,” he said.
Fayyaz stressed that the public “deserves full transparency”, calling for disclosure of what was agreed, ownership arrangements, and how the deal protects the Maldives’ digital future. He accused the Government of potentially “selling out a national industry” under the cover of big-name partnerships.
Announcing the Dhivaru project yesterday, Google noted that it is the first international subsea cable landing in the Maldives. The cable is set to connect the country to high-capacity digital routes running between Africa, Asia, and Australia, significantly boosting bandwidth and improving global connectivity. The project is part of Google’s broader efforts to strengthen its regional infrastructure network.
According to the announcement, the landing station will be developed in Hulhumalé, and the cable is expected to support faster, more reliable digital services, improve cloud accessibility, and open opportunities for the Maldives to integrate into global data traffic routes. The Government has described the partnership as a major step toward modernising the nation’s digital infrastructure, though details of the agreement — including ownership, revenue-sharing, and regulatory terms — have not yet been publicly released.
