Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer has said that significant strides have been made in expediting India-assisted projects in the Maldives, as he underscored the government’s commitment to prioritising the resumption and completion of these projects. Zameer, who visited India from May 8 to 10 on his very first bilateral official visit, said he and his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar engaged in bilateral discussions on May 9 to address pivotal matters aimed at expediting the projects initiated with India’s financial assistance.He said the discussions with Jaishankar focused on the operational dynamics of the committees entrusted with executing these projects, psmnews.mv reported.
Zameer said India has given the Maldives the green signal to extend the repayment deadline for USD 150 million of a USD 200 million debt. The loan was secured by the previous government upon assuming office in 2019. Zameer said that USD 50 million of the USD 200 million owed to India was repaid in January. He emphasised that the Indian government has not made any demands in exchange for extending the repayment period of the remaining USD 150 million.
