The 51st Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has successfully concluded in Manila, the capital of Philippines.
The delegation of the Maldives led by Minister of Finance and Treasury Ahmed Munawar held successful discussions with ADB and other multilateral donors during the meetings. At the ADB Annual Meeting, Finance Minister Munawar delivered a statement highlighting Maldives has invested over USD 2 billion in infrastructure development over the past 5 years in its vision to become a resilient and diversified economy.
In addition, Minister Munawar attended the 12th SAARC Finance Ministers Meeting and discussed the importance of artificial intelligence and technology for economic development. The Finance Minister briefed the initiatives conducted by the government of Maldives in promoting technologies.
The Minister also met several high-level officials from the ADB, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) to confirm the commitment of the development partners to fund one of the most historic projects for the Greater Male' region. During the meeting with Minister Munawar, President of ADB Takehiko Nakao reaffirmed support to economic and social development of Maldives and further assured assistance for Maldives in providing additional development financing through concessional loans, specifically for mega projects.
Moreover, Minister Munawar secured USD 165 million to finance the Greater Male' Environmental Improvement and Waste Management Project which includes a 10 to 13% contribution from the government. AIIB and IDB, in addition to the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JFJCM) are among the co-financiers of the project aimed to provide an eco-friendly solution to waste disposal in the region.