The Parliament of the Maldives has decided to request the government to arrange a mechanism where food, medicine and other essential items can be purchased for the country using local currency.
The proposal was included in the report prepared by Parliamentary Committee on National Security and Foreign Relations, on the measures to be taken by the government to overcome the COVID-19 crisis. The report was passed with votes from 59 parliamentarians.
The report stated foreign aid is essential in the efforts of the Maldives to overcome the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report stated a request will be made to the government to negotiate with countries which have close ties with the Maldives on purchasing food, medicine and other essential items using the Maldivian currency.
Other suggestions made by the parliament committee include negotiating a moratorium for international loans taken by the Maldives. Noting the government has been working on seeking foreign grants to overcome the financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, the committee also suggested arranging a mechanism to speed up the process of acquiring foreign grants.
Furthermore, the committee noted the government has been working on establishing an effective system to monitor the inflow of expatriate workers and identify undocumented workers. The committee noted the government has been conducting discussions with foreign embassies to repatriate undocumented expatriates to their home countries.