Maldives-China Relations: Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu has recently returned to the country after a five-day visit to China. After going to China, he signed about 20 agreements with President Xi Jinping. These agreements include tourism cooperation, disaster risk reduction, maritime economy, strengthening investment in the digital economy and the Belt and Road Initiative.
However, amid all this, Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu said on Saturday (January 13) that China has agreed to change the loan repayment period. The governments of both the countries will soon start talks regarding this.
After returning from a five-day visit to China, President Mohammad Muizzu said that he has appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to change the repayment period of the loan provided to Maldives or increase the installment.
According to the news of Maldives news portal Sun Online, Muizzu said that a technical team from China’s Finance Ministry will soon visit Maldives. After this, the team will work out a way to offer a grace period in loan repayment in the next five years.
Chinese debt burden on Maldives
Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu said on the loan taken from China that China has agreed to change the period of repayment of the loan. This will make it much easier for us to repay the loan. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) data, China is currently the Maldives’ largest external lender, accounting for about 20 percent of its total public debt.
Apart from this, according to a report released by Observer Research Foundation, Maldives has taken 60 percent of the total loan from China. Loan giving banks include China Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and Export-Import Bank of China.
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