Maldives

U.S. foreign assistance resources aim to strengthen democratic institutions, civil society, fiscal transparency, maritime security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement. The Department committed nearly $10 million in Economic Support Funds in February 2019 during Maldivian Foreign Minister Shahid’s visit to Washington, DC. During the 2020 COVID-19 crisis, the U.S. has provided nearly $3 million in assistance to Maldives to date to support the expansion of social-protection services led by local civil-society organizations and assist them to advocate effectively for COVID recovery policies. Since 2018, the U.S. has provided $10.8 million in Foreign Military Financing under the Bay of Bengal Initiative, in support of Maldives’ maritime security capacity.

Maldives has signed a trade and investment framework agreement with the United States and held its first meeting in October 2014, providing a forum to examine ways to enhance bilateral trade and investment. Maldives has been designated as a beneficiary country under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program, under which a range of products that Maldives might seek to export would be eligible for duty-free entry to the United States. The GSP program provides an incentive for investors to produce in Maldives and export selected products duty-free to the U.S. market.