The government elected three years ago on a promise to defend Maldivian sovereignty has spent the past 10 days fending off accusations of selling half of Rasmalé to wealthy foreigners.
But the deal with Eagle Hills is only the latest step. Every government since 2008 has widened what foreigners can hold in the Maldives, from resort villas to residency for investors to townships, and every opposition has cast it as a betrayal of sovereignty. What’s different about Rasmalé is that foreign buyers would come to live, not to holiday.
Our feature on the 99-year leases, the laws behind them and the politics of land in a country where it is scarcest: https://maldivesindependent.com/politics/foreign-money-not-foreign-neighbours-rasmal-and-the-politics-of-land-e871