President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has revealed that a large state budget is expected to be proposed in the year 2021 as well.

Delivering the presidential address at the inaugural sitting of the People’s Majlis on Monday morning, the president revealed that the state budget for 2021 is also expected to be abundant as work will begin to implement the government’s development pledges throughout the ongoing year and the next year.

The government aims to set a debt-friendly state budget, said Solih.

Further, the president highlighted that the state received an income of MVR 23.1 billion during 2019 and the state spent a total of MVR 28.3 billion. The budget deficit for 2019 reached MVR 5.2 billion.

The state is predicted to receive income and free aid of MVR 29.9 billion this year, which is a 30 percent increase compared to 2019. A MVR 24.7 billion state income is also expected for 2020, an increase of 12 percent compared to 2019.

Solih added that the state is expected to receive MVR 5.2 billion as free aid during the ongoing year.

Shedding light on the changes to global economy, Solih stated that the country’s economy is expected at a rate of 7.5 percent with an average inflation rate of one percent.

State reserves were recorded at USD 753 million during 2019, and Solih estimated this amount to reach USD 818 million at the end of 2020. By the end of 2019, Maldives had USD 315 million as usable reserves.