Thursday
25th Apr 2024
Dhivehi Edition
President Solih. Photo: President's Office.
The government has stated that the free foreign aid expected to receive for this year will not meet the estimated annual budget amount.
The “Medium Term Fiscal Strategy 2023-2025” report published by the Ministry of Finance stated that the government now expects to receive MVR 1 billion in free foreign aid this year. However, it was previously estimated in the annual budget for the year 2022, that the government was expected to receive up to MVR 2.9 billion in financial assistance.
Although the government’s new estimate is MVR 1 billion in grant aid, so far the state has received only MVR 271 million. This is just 10 percent of the total forecast.
The report stated that the government will receive USD 37.5 million (MVR 578 million) from the Abu Dhabi Fund. Even after the addition of the funds, the free financial aid will total MVR 849 million, making it highly likely that the government will fall short of their new estimate for the year as well.
The annual budget is drafted with generous amounts in free financial aid each year. However, the amount received each year always falls short. Likewise, in 2021, the government expected to receive MVR 2.2 billion in financial aid but received only MVR 1 billion.