Maldivian Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid has said that the United States have proven to be a close and reliable friend, especially at times of critical need.

He made the remark in a virtual meeting with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power. Administrator Power is the 19th Administrator of the USAID having served in various roles within the United States Foreign Service.

During the virtual meeting, Minister Shahid and Administrator Power discussed the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the two countries and the continued commitment in areas of cooperation especially in the areas of protecting the environment, strengthening democratic governance and public finance management in the Maldives.

Minister Shahid also thanked the Government of the United States for their continued assistance to the Maldives, and commended the US Government’s recent announcement to include Maldives among the first countries that would receive the extra stocks of COVID-19 vaccines from the US.

The Government of the United States has provided over USD 20 million in assistance to the Maldives since 2001, including over USD 9.1 million in assistance provided to the Maldives to assist in COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.

USAID has also made generous donations in the recent past including critical care ventilators and multiple batches of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical equipment to the Maldives to help better combat the current pandemic.