Key Takeaways
- India extends deadline for Maldives’ USD 50 million Treasury Bill repayment by one year.
- The repayment extension is a gesture of goodwill and support under India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
- The ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy aims to strengthen economic and strategic ties with India’s neighbouring countries, including Maldives.
Male/New Delhi: On the request of the Maldives government, India has extended the deadline for the repayment of USD 50 million Treasury Bill (T-Bill) by one year issued as budgetary support for Male.
In a statement on Thursday, the Indian High Commission in Male said the State Bank of India (SBI) has subscribed the USD 50 million T-Bill issued by the Finance Ministry of Maldives by an additional year from the date of maturity.
Former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration withdrew three T-Bills valued at USD 50 million from SBI, sun.mv reported.
The current administration repaid one of the T-Bills in January this year, with the second T-Bill due in May. The Government of India granted an extension for the repayment of the T-Bill by one year.
The third T-Bill which matured on Thursday (Sep 19), was granted an additional year for repayment.
As per the High Commission, the subscriptions were made at the special request of the government of Maldives as emergency financial assistance.
In their statement, the High Commission underscored Maldives as a key maritime neighbour and
important partner under Inda’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and vision SAGAR, Security and Grown for All in the Region.
“Government of India’s decision to rollover the T-Bill came following a request to that effect made by Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer to India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, during the official bilateral visit to India from 8-10 May 2024,” a foreign ministry press release stated.
The Maldives Foreign Ministry in a statement thanked the “generous support that the Government of India has been providing to the Maldives in the form of budgetary support.”
“This extension comes at a pivotal moment as the Government of Maldives is implementing a strong fiscal consolidation program to address the pressing economic challenges,” the ministry said.
The Maldives government is also working to defer repayment of loans taken from other countries including China.
