Ameer acknowledges the drastic decline of national reserve

Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer has acknowledged the fact that the national reserve has been declining much faster than previously estimated.

When one of the largest investment banks of the world, J.P. Morgan estimated the complete depletion of the Maldivian national reserve by 2023, rendering the country incapable of loan repayments, Ameer said that the government was confident that they could stabilize the national reserve.

Later, responding to a question by MP for Galolhu Uthuru constituency, Eva Abdulla, Ameer had said that the government was confident about keeping the national reserve stable.

However, a report published by the World Bank stated that upon deducting the funds for short-term repayments from the current national reserve, it leaves just 1.1 months worth of available reserve in the country’s national reserve.

In response to a question posed by a journalist at the news conference held at the President’s Office on Thursday, Minister Ameer said that the national reserve will hold the same amount stated in this year’s annual budget, however, he acknowledged that the national reserve was depleting faster than previously expected. He said that the national reserve is expected to hold USD 690 million by the end of the year.

Ameer reasoned that the drastic depletion of national reserves is a common phenomenon amongst many countries, caused due to the raised global oil prices. However, Ameer noted that to resolve the reserve depletion issue, the government will acquire financing of USD 400 million as currency swap and will also receive USD 200 million as a SAARC facility.

Although Ameer assured that Maldives will definitely receive more funds through collaborations with multinational organizations, he failed to elaborate on how these funds were to be generated and through which organizations.