The government has completed repayment of a USD 150 million debt incurred by the former MDP administration through the State Bank of India (SBI) in 2019, clearing the final USD 50 million obligation today.
The USD 150 million was raised under former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration through three USD 50 million Treasury Bill tranches to support government finances. Official Finance Ministry documents from 2019 recorded the SBI investment as an addition to government debt.
The three tranches were obtained on March 17, June 26 and October 1, 2019.
President Solih also acknowledged Indian financial assistance through Treasury Bills during a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2019.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu said in May that repayment of the debt had been repeatedly deferred between 2020 and 2023 under the previous administration.
According to Muizzu, his administration paid the first USD 50 million installment on January 7, 2024. The remaining USD 100 million was subsequently rolled over following discussions with the Indian government.
Another USD 50 million was later settled, leaving the final USD 50 million payment due on September 17.
Muizzu described the completion of the payments as freeing Maldivians from what he called a “USD 150 million debt trap” inherited from the previous government.
The repayment comes as the current administration tackles substantial debt obligations accumulated over successive governments.
Finance and Public Enterprises Minister Hassan Zareer has said approximately USD 1.3 billion has been spent on debt repayments under the current administration.
The government says repayments made during its tenure have already exceeded the amounts repaid during the comparable first two and a half years of the Yameen and Solih administrations.
According to figures cited by the government, USD 191 million was repaid during the first two and a half years of former President Abdulla Yameen’s administration, compared with USD 428 million during the same period under the former MDP administration.
The government has also said that a significant share of the Maldives’ reserves is being directed towards meeting the country’s debt obligations.
