Vehicles procured with the grant from the Indian Government has been handed over to Malé City Council.

The vehicles were handed over by the High Commissioner of India to the Maldives Sunjay Sudir on behalf of the Indian government to the Mayor of Malé City Shifa Muhammad during a special ceremony held on Wednesday morning.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid and other officials from the Government, City Council and the High Commission of India in Male’ were also in attendance at the ceremony.

Speaking at the event, Minister Shahid stated that the financial assistance will facilitate "small, but impactful work" and will, therefore, empower local communities and drive social development.

Mayor Shifa also spoke at the ceremony, expressing her appreciation to the Indian Government in bolstering the council's work and increasing the council's efficiency.

Eight million rufiyaa was allocated for Malé City Council from the grant assistance of USD 6.9 million (MVR 106 million) given to the Government of Maldives by the Government of India when the Minister of External Affairs of India visited the country in March 2019.

As the objective of the grant assistance was to conduct high impact socio-economic development projects all over the country, the Foreign Ministry noted that the aid was used to procure vehicles and machinery required to allow the council to efficiently fulfil their responsibilities.

As such, all projects under this grant will be managed by local authorities, said the ministry.