Ministry of Finance, on Monday, put forward a budget for the year 2021 that rounds approximately MVR 35 billion to the parliament, which is nearly MVR 3.2 billion less than the budget approved for 2020.
According to local media Mihaaru, details of the budget will be disseminated by Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer during a parliamentary statement.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the parliament was forced to revise the 2020 State Budget due to the state failing to generate the expected revenue.
Similar to numerous countries around the world, amid the ongoing health crisis, Maldives closed its air and sea borders to tourist arrivals on March 27, halting the issuance of on-arrival visas. The closure of borders remained in place until June 15.
Heavily reliant on tourism for revenue, the restrictions on international travel left the country vulnerable to severe economic impacts, especially since the reopening of borders have failed to attract as many visitors as the tourism sector had initially hoped.
Recently, the World Bank has urged Maldives to hold back on development projects that could further exacerbate sovereign debt during the pandemic, noting that the country recorded an increase of 16 percent in its capital expenditures compared to last year.
Further, a report compiled by the Parliament revealed that Maldives' national debt reached MVR 172 billion till late October.
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