The Indian government on Monday provided a budget support to Maldives in the form of a rollover of USD 50 million Treasury Bill, for an additional year at the request of Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer.

“State Bank of India has subscribed for one more year the USD 50 million Government Treasury Bill, issued by the Ministry of Finance of Maldives, upon maturity of the previous subscription. These Government Treasury Bills are subscribed by SBI under by SBI under a unique Government-to-Government arrangement at zero-cost (interest-free) to the Government of Maldives,” the Indian High Commission in Maldives said in a statement.

This extension of the subscription has been done at the request of the Maldivian government.

“The continuation of subscription has been made at the special request of the Government of Maldives to secure budgetary support from the Government of India,” the statement read.

The Maldivian Foreign Ministry, in their statement, stated that the Indian government’s decision to roll over the T-Bill comes after Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer requested the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during his official visit to India earlier this month.

The ministry further appreciated the Indian government’s support to the Maldives in the form of budgetary allocation.

“Large number of infrastructural developmental projects and High Impact Community Developmental projects are underway with the assistance from the Government of India, which consists of a notable part as grant assistance,” the statement stated.

The Maldivian government looks forward to continuing the collaborative partnership between the two countries for the mutual benefit and prosperity of their people, it added.