USAID Administrator Samantha Power announced that, working with Congress, USAID will establish a permanent USAID Country Office in Maldives as part of the U.S. Embassy presence in the country. The office will carry out USAID’s development programs to advance a more democratic, prosperous, and resilient Maldives, building on the United States’ decades-long commitment to partnering with the Maldivian government and people.
Since 2001, USAID has supported Maldives to increase disaster response capabilities, protect and conserve its environmental resources, identify and scale up innovative solutions to climate-related challenges, increase openness and democratic progress, and more. Establishing a permanent country office demonstrates USAID’s continued commitment to an independent and thriving Maldives and will allow USAID to further strengthen its partnerships with the government and people of Maldives, build stronger people-to-people ties between the United States and Maldives, and implement more tailored development programs for communities. The new office will allow USAID to become more impactful in delivering sustainable results in line with the country’s economic, environmental, and social development priorities.
The United States and Maldives share a common interest in deepening bilateral ties. In 2023, the United States formally established the U.S. Embassy in Maldives and assigned a resident Ambassador, and Maldives formally re-established their Embassy to the United States. Building on this recent strengthening of ties, USAID Maldives will continue to work with the government and people of Maldives to support democracy, improve transparency, strengthen public financial management, address the impacts of climate change, and increase public engagement in democratic processes.
USAID Maldives will continue to partner with key host government officials and ministries, civil society leaders, communities, the private sector, and like-minded development partners to further strengthen Maldives’ resilience and accelerate progress beyond programs. Maldives is a valuable partner for the United States in the Indo-Pacific region, as well as at the United Nations and in other international fora. USAID’s strong partnership with Maldives advances a free and open Indo-Pacific that is more connected, prosperous, resilient, and secure.