Maldives Moosa Zameer thanks S Jaishankar as India extends budget support

Male:

In a gesture of goodwill, India has decided to extend vital budgetary support to the government of Maldives with the extension of a US$50 million Treasury bill for another year at the special request of the government of Maldives, it was announced on Monday .

The State Bank of India has subscribed for another year to the $50 million Government Treasury Note issued by the Ministry of Finance of the Maldives after the previous subscription expired, the High Commission of India said in a brief statement on Monday. .

The Indian government took this decision despite bilateral ties having been in turmoil since Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, took office six months ago.

These Government Treasury Bills are underwritten by SBI on a government-to-government basis, a one-time zero-cost (interest-free) arrangement for the Government of Maldives.

The continued subscription was made at the special request of the Government of Maldives to ensure budgetary support from the Government of India, the statement said.

The Maldivian government on Monday thanked India for its support.

“I thank EAM Dr. S Jaishankar and the Government of India for extending vital budget support to the Maldives with the extension of 50 million dollars from the Treasury. This is a true gesture of goodwill that signifies the long-standing friendship between the Maldives and India”, said the Foreign Minister. Moosa Zameer tweeted.

The Government of India has provided budget support of US$50 million to the Maldives. The support took the form of a renewal of US$50 million in Treasury bills, for another year, through the State Bank of India, Malé, from May 13, 2024, the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. in a statement.

“The decision of the Government of India to extend the T-Bill followed a request to this effect made by External Affairs Minister Moosa Zameer to Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar during the official bilateral visit to India from May 8-10, the statement said.

The Government of Maldives is very grateful for the generous support that the Government of India has provided to the Maldives in the form of budgetary support. A large number of high-impact infrastructure development projects and community development projects are underway with the assistance of the Government of India, which consists of a notable portion as grant assistance, the statement said.

The Government of Maldives looks forward to continuing this collaborative partnership for the mutual benefit and prosperity of its people, he said.

Zameer, after returning from the visit, said that significant progress has been made in accelerating projects assisted by India in the Maldives, while underlining the government’s commitment to giving priority to the resumption and completion of these projects.

This comes amid a crisis in bilateral ties between the two countries since President Muizzu took office in November and immediately asked India to withdraw around 89 Indian military personnel from the country by May 10. nation.

Zameer said on Saturday that 76 Indian military personnel have been replaced by civilian employees of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which manufactured the two helicopters donated by India, thus also ending the suspense over the exact number of repatriates at Male’s insistence.

However, the Maldivian government has no intention of withdrawing doctors from India in Senahiya.

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