The government of Maldives has received USD 520 million in loans and grants through foreign assistance, following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer revealed this after being summoned to Wednesday’s parliament sitting for questioning regarding Covid-19 expenditure and its economic impacts.

While Ameer revealed that the government has received USD 520 million as concessional financing through loans and grants, he did not disclose any further details.

A number of friendly nations and international financial institutions have approved loans to the island nation, given the pandemic’s immense impact of the country’s economy.

Most recently, Japan provided a Covid-19 Response Emergency Loan of USD 47.5 million to Maldives, while India had days prior, handed over USD 250 million as a budgetary support; the latter is largest single donor assistance the island nation has received thus far.

International financial institutions that have provided assistance to the Maldives since the pandemic include World Bank, Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Furthermore, Minister Ameer noted changes to the estimated budget for 2020, including a MVR 15 billion decrease on foreign loans and grants, from a projected MVR 30 billion.