On the occasion of Independence Day of the Maldives on July 26, 2020, the largest Indian public sector bank, State Bank of India (SBI) provided liquidity support of USD 16.20 million as a COVID-relief for the Government of Maldives to overcome liquidity shortage. The fund will support economic relief measures by utilizing it for local businesses and defers loan repayment for over 200 retail accounts.
- It should be noted that the year 2020 marks the 55 years of establishment of diplomatic ties between India and the Maldives.
Key Points:
-An Assistance of USD 400 million has been made available already to Maldives through an extended currency swap arrangement which was inked in July 2019 by both nations. Notably, Maldives is the only country, other than Bhutan, which has been extended with the USD 400 million currency swap facility.
-India will soon announce another substantial financial assistance package to support the Maldivian economy and assist in economic recovery post-COVID-19.
-The growing relationship between both nations is premised upon the ‘India First’ policy of Maldives and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy of India.
Recent Related News:
On April 2, 2020, Indian Air Force (IAF) launched ‘Operation Sanjeevani’ and air-lifted 6.2 tonnes of essential medical supplies to Maldives via transport aircraft C-130J as an assistance to fight against COVID-19.
About Maldives:
Capital– Male
Currency– Maldivian rufiyaa
President– Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
About SBI:
Formed– July 1955 as SBI
Headquarter– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Chairman– Rajnish Kumar
Digital banking platform– Yono
Tagline– The Banker to Every Indian
