The Finance Ministry has said that the Qatar Fund for Development will provide a loan of MVR 3 billion to meet next year's budget expenditures.
According to the proposed state budget for 2026, the government plans to raise MVR 21.9 billion in loans. This is higher than the MVR 20.6 billion in loans this year.
MVR 6.5 billion is to be borrowed from bilateral partners. Qatar accounts for the largest share of the debt. According to the table of loans owed by the government, this is the first loan from the Qatar Fund.
However, it has previously borrowed from the Saudi Fund, the Abu Dhabi Fund and the Kuwait Fund. Most of these loans were taken for the development of the new terminal at Velana International Airport (VIA).
It is unclear what the loan from the Qatar Fund will be spent on. A Finance Ministry official said information will be provided after clarification.
