TOKYO -- The Maldives' Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer said Thursday that the island nation owes a total of $1.4 billion to China, the same amount that India had pledged in financial aid to the newly elected President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Solih made his first official visit abroad to India on Monday. Ameer explained to reporters in Tokyo that $1.4 billion is the total amount of loans committed by the Chinese, of which $666 million has been drawn down so far. He added after the press conference that the total amount that will be deployed is expected to be $850 million by year end, as Beijing advances its infrastructure projects in the country.
