Maldives National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) on Tuesday backed the economic policy of incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s government ahead of the presidential elections in September.

Speaking during a press conference held at the MNCCI office on Tuesday, vice president Ismail Asif said the chamber had carefully studied the economic policy of every political party publicized ahead of the elections.

“We used the same parameters used by other countries to study the economic policies. That is how the policies are shaped, how the development projects are planned and implemented and how relevant they are to local businesses,” Asif explained.

Asif added that the economic policies of the opposition both adopted in the past and planned for the future remain unsuitable for an economy such as the Maldives.

He said the opposition has expressed intentions to trade with some specific countries which he insisted was in contrast to the policy of MNCCI which is to deal with all countries.