Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has revealed the Maldives is among 77 countries China is considering for a debt moratorium.
The foreign minister made the statement following a virtual meeting held with the Ambassador of China to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong. In a tweet, Foreign Minister Shahid said the Chinese ambassador had informed him that the Maldives is one of the 77 countries included in the list for the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. However, the minister did not disclose any further details of the moratorium.
The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative was announced on April 15 to support low-income countries amid the COVID-19 pandemic by providing a moratorium on loan and debt repayments. The moratorium would be offered by countries which are part of the G20, which includes the world's leading countries.
While China has decided to include the Maldives in the list of countries to be offered a debt moratorium, Ministry of Finance said the state debt is expected to rise to USD 776 million by the end of the year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.