Modi likely to announce US$ 1 billion loan to Maldives during visit

Indian PM Narendra Modi is likely to announce a US$ 1 billion Line of Credit to Maldives, during his official visit to the island nation.

A south asian news portal, 'South Asian Monitor' claimed so citing close sources of Modi.

Modi’s most important engagement in Male will be on June 8 when he addresses the the Maldivian parliament.

China will inevitably be the elephant in the room when Modi, accompanied by his Man Friday, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, holds official parleys with his Maldivian interlocutors.

"Well-placed sources had said that Modi is likely to make a major announcement during his address to the Majlis, largely with an eye on countering China’s influence. He is likely to announce a sizable Line of Credit (LoC) to Maldives. The LoC may be worth US$ 1 billion, a significant amount in view of the fact that the Maldivian GDP is just below US$ 5 billion," the report on South Asian Monitor read.

Modi will be spending two nights (June 7-8), making him the first Indian Prime Minister to spend so much time on an official visit to Maldives.