Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives Abdulla Shahid has expressed gratitude to the United States for the continued assistance extended to the Maldives amid the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the remarks in a virtual meeting held with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power, on June 24
During the virtual meeting, both Minister Shahid and Administrator Power discussed the on-going COVID-19 pandemic in the two countries and the ongoing areas of cooperation especially in the areas of protecting the environment, strengthening democratic governance and public finance management in the Maldives. Minister Shahid also thanked the Government of the US for their continued assistance to the Maldives, and commended the US Government’s recent announcement to include the Maldives among the first countries that would receive the extra stocks of COVID-19 vaccines from the U.S. Minister Shahid also noted that the US has proven to be a close and reliable friend, especially at times of critical need.
The US Government has provided over USD 20 million in assistance to the Maldives since 2001, including over USD 9.1 million in assistance provided to the Maldives to assist in COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts. USAID has also made generous donations in the recent past including critical care ventilators and multiple batches of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical equipment to the Maldives to help better combat the pandemic.