India gives USD 250 million soft loan to coronavirus-hit Maldives

India has provided financial assistance of USD 250 million to the Maldives to help it mitigate the economic impact of the COVID19 pandemic the Indian embassy here said on SundayThe grant provided under the most favourable terms possible was in response to the request made by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to overcome the difficult economic situation in the MaldivesA handover ceremony was held on Sunday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Government of Maldives to mark the occasion in the presence of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir and CEO SBI Male Bharat Mishra the embassy said in a statementThe financial assistance was announced first during a virtual meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and provided through a Treasury Bond sale to the State Bank of India SBI Male which has a tenure of 10 years for repayment it saidThe IndiaMaldives partnership is unique and the COVID19 pandemic has highlighted this India will continue to stand by the people and Government of Maldives during these difficult times the embassy saidThe USD 250 million budgetary support showcases the resilience and reliability of the IndiaMaldives relationship Indias Neighbourhood First policy and the Maldives India First policy have worked in tandem during the COVID19 pandemic to safeguard the wellbeing of our peoplesToday is another milestone in our historic ties that have expanded in scope and risen in ambition in the recent past it said India had provided substantial and continued assistance to the Maldives during the COVID19 pandemicA team of doctors and specialists visited the Maldives in March to assist in COVIDpreparedness A consignment of 55 tonnes of essential medicines was donated in April another consignment of 62 tonnes of medicines was airlifted from 4 Indian cities to Male by the Indian Air Force and 580 tonnes of food aid was provided in MayIndia continuously lifted export restrictions on medical consumables respiratory apparatus and testing kits and reagents throughout the pandemic to assist Maldives in its battle against COVID19On the request of the Government of Maldives India will also send doctors and nurses recruited on shortterm contracts to reinforce the health system in the Maldives in the battle against COVID19 Tourism constitutes a third of the Maldives national revenueNeeza Imad Minister of State for Economic Development of Maldives has said that COVID19 has had a devastating impact on the countrys economy particularly to SMEs that account for most of the tourism related employment As a result of the ongoing crisis the International Monetary Fund has projected that the countrys economy will contract by 81 per cent in 2020Keep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest newsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever