Signing of USD 40 Million Line of Credit for Sports Infrastructure Development
A USD 40 million Line of Credit dedicated to development of sports infrastructure in Maldives was concluded between EXIM Bank of India and Government of Maldives on 02 September, 2021.
The Line of Credit was initially offered during the visit ofExternal Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar to Maldives in February 2021.
India acknowledges the high priority accorded by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to sports and is privileged to be a partner in that effort. The funds will be used to support the development of sports infrastructure to fulfil the interests and aspirations of the Maldivian people.
The credit-line of USD 40 million would be used exclusively for construction of a variety of stadia and sports complexes across Maldives that cater to football, athletics, badminton, tennis, table-tennis and a range of indoor sports. Moreover, the funds are meant to help prepare Maldives for hosting the Indian Ocean Island Games.
In the recently concluded Olympic games in Tokyo, India recorded its best medal haul ever, a total of seven medals -- one gold, two silver, and four bronze. India’s consistently improving performance at the Olympics is a result of the investments made in development of infrastructure and training. India would be very happy to share this expertise with the Maldives.
One of the focus in our ties with the Maldives is on people-to-people relationship and in looking at ways to strengthen it. Sports cooperation is a nascent but promising area of cooperation for the India-Maldives ties. During the visit of former EAM Sushma Swaraj in March 2019, the Maldivian side requested Indian assistance for the construction of a cricket stadium and India readily agreed to it. Construction of a Cricket Stadium in Hulhumale’ was one of the first projects to be included under $ 800 million Line of Credit extended to the Maldives. The project is at the tendering stage.
President Solih attended an Indian Premier League (IPL) match in Bengaluru in April 2019 and subsequently expressed his desirefor development of cricket in the Maldives. A plan was worked out with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to take this idea forward. Camps for training of Maldivian cricket umpires and coaches have been conducted. Under this programme, Maldives National Men’s and Women’s cricket teamswill attend a month-long training camp at the premier Centre for Sports Science in Chennai, India.
In November 2020, during visit of Foreign Secretary to Maldives, an bilateral MoU on cooperation in Sports and Youth Affairs was concluded to provide an institutional framework for our ongoing cooperation in the field of sports.
Development of sports is an important element of India’s developmental assistance to the Maldives. Under India’s MVR 200 grant assistance, Outdoor Gyms are being set up across 61 islands of the Maldives. The Ekuveni ground track, a sporting landmark in Male’ city, was also developed under this grant and inaugurated in January 2021.
Along with development of sports infrastructure in Maldives, which would be carried out under the exclusive Line of Credit, India would be happy to provide training in a variety of sports that are popular among the Maldivians. It would be an honour for India to support development of sports in the Maldives and help bring out the true potential of the tremendous sporting talent in the country.
