World Bank executives discuss future investments with Maldivian government

A delegation of World Bank executive directors has conducted a three-day visit to Maldives during which it engaged in discussions with the Maldivian government and other developmental stakeholders regarding priority development opportunities and constraints in Maldives to assess potential future projects.

According to the World Bank, the delegation visited Male’ City, suburban Hulhumale’ and Addu City to assess the progress and results of World Bank-supported projects in Maldives last week.

The delegation held meetings with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Speaker of Parliament and former President Mohamed Nasheed, Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer, and representatives from Parley Maldives in Male’.

The delegation, in its visit to Addu, met with Addu City Mayor Abdulla Sodiq, officials from the Women’s Development Committee of Addu, and observed activities completed through a multi-donor Trust Fund, the Climate Change Adaptation Project – run with the goal of reducing Addu’s vulnerability to climate change.

The Climate Change Adaption Project in Addu is managed by the World Bank with support from the European Union and DFAT (Australian Government).

The delegation, in its visit to suburban Hulhumale’, observed progress of ongoing housing projects and a World Bank-supported renewable energy project.

During the meeting with President Solih, the delegation reaffirmed the development partnership between Maldives and World Bank which dates back to more than 40 years. And during the meeting with Finance Minister Ameer, the delegates discussed development opportunities and key constraints facing Maldives with a focus on macro-fiscal issues, and opportunities for private sector investments.

The delegation also reaffirmed the World Bank’s support to priority reforms by the Maldivian government.

The World Bank currently has an International Development Agency (IDA) guarantee and six active investment projects in Maldives. The six active investment projects are focused on fisheries, solid waste management, public financial management, and improving employment with a special focus on the tourism and IT sectors.

According to World Bank, the total net commitment currently stands at USD 104 million.

Additional projects on the IDA portfolio includes a Disaster Risk Management Development Policy Loan with a Catastrophe-Deferred Drawdown Option (CAT DDO) to support macro-fiscal reforms, and a Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility (PEF) to increase the government’s capacity to deal with serious incidences of disasters and climate change. The PEF provides an additional source of financing to help the Maldives to respond to possible cross-border, large-scale outbreaks.