An agreement was signed today with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide the Maldivian government with a US$50 million loan for oil imports.

The purpose of this facility — coming as global oil prices have climbed on the back of ongoing Middle East unrest and government fuel spending has ballooned — is to ease pressure on the state budget.

At a ceremony held at the Finance Ministry, the agreement was signed on behalf of the government by Finance Minister Hassan Zareer. Signing for ADB was Dr. Thiam Hee Ng, Regional Head of the bank’s Regional Cooperation and Integration Unit. The project agreement was also signed on behalf of STO by its Managing Director and CEO, Shimad Ibrahim.

According to the Finance Ministry, this facility was arranged as part of the government’s ongoing efforts to secure concessional financing from multilateral banks. The ministry noted that facilities of this kind help maintain the sustainability of government debt.