Malé, Maldives — According to the Finance Ministry of Maldives, the country had a debt of MVR 73.9 billion at the end of June 2020.
The ministry’s statistics shows that this figure is a six percent increase compared to the MVR 69.4 billion debt recorded in the first financial quarter of 2020.
While the external debt for the second quarter reached MVR 37.7 billion (55 percent of GDP,) the internal debt was recorded to be at MVR 36.1 billion (53 percent of GDP.)
Currently, the overall debt of Maldives is at 108 percent of the country’s GDP, which is at MVR 68.3 billion.
It is calculated that the increase in national debt in the second financial quarter was due to the additional loans obtained by the government in response to the economic downturn caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and due to the subsequent fall in national revenue.
Maldives has up to date acquired 12 loans in 2020, such of which are from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Development Association (IDA), European Investment Bank (EIB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), according to the finance ministry’s statistics.
The Finance Minister, Ibrahim Ameer had earlier in August guaranteed during a parliamentary committee meeting that there was no possibility of Maldives defaulting on its sovereign debts.
