The Maldives and the United States of America have signed a debt relief agreement under the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).
With the aim to temporarily suspend debt-service payments owed to bilateral creditors, Maldives High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Omar Abdul Razzak and U.S. Ambassador to Maldives Alaina B. Teplitz signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments, during a ceremony held at the High Commission of Maldives in Colombo, on Wednesday.
The agreement was signed for debt relief worth USD $100,000. Following the agreement-signing ceremony, the U.S. Ambassador took to Twitter, expressing hope that international partners will join in the efforts to help countries redirect their resources towards fighting the Covid-19 pandemic.
G20 announced a 6-month extension in October, giving developing countries until the end of June 2021 to prioritize expenses towards health care and emergency stimulus programmes rather than repaying debts.
USD $5 billion has been delivered as a relief to over 40 eligible countries, under the initiative.
Full details are available at the link below:
