Maldives signs $9.7 million Kuwait Fund loan for Veymandoo hospital

The Maldives has signed a USD 9.7 million (MVR 149.9 million) loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development to finance the construction of a 50-bed hospital in Th. Veymandoo.

The agreement, valued at 3 million Kuwaiti dinars, was signed on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Ministry of Finance and Public Enterprises.

Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises Hassan Zareer signed the agreement on behalf of the Maldives, while Acting Director-General Rashid Al-Badr signed on behalf of the Kuwait Fund.

The financing will support the construction of a hospital equipped with modern healthcare facilities, aimed at improving access to medical services in Thaa Atoll.

According to the government, the agreement marks the Kuwait Fund's 15th development loan to the Maldives and its first loan specifically supporting a healthcare sector development project in the country.

Following the signing ceremony, the Kuwait Fund also announced plans to increase its annual lending assistance to the Maldives from USD 10 million to USD 40 million, beginning next year.

The fund said the decision followed discussions held on the sidelines of this year's annual meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a multilateral development bank initiated by China.

The planned increase would quadruple the amount of annual lending assistance available to the Maldives from the Kuwait Fund.

The fund also expressed interest in providing financial assistance for the Thilafushi port development project.

In addition, the Kuwait Fund reaffirmed its interest in strengthening cooperation with the Maldives and supporting further development initiatives.

The Veymandoo hospital project is intended to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in Thaa Atoll and improve the availability of medical services for residents.