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India will renew the quota for essential commodities for Maldives, including river sand and stone aggregate, for a period of three years, starting April 1, 2019, Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj has said.
In a meeting between Swaraj and her counterpart Abdulla Shahid in Male, the two noted the increase in bilateral trade volume over the past few years and agreed to improve connectivity as a means to promote the exchange of goods and services, culture, and people, according to a joint statement released by the two sides.
“The Ministers also agreed on the need to boost private sector involvement, and agreed to hold the Maldives-India Business Forum in 2019,” the statement added.
Swaraj is on a two-day visit to Maldives at the invitation of her counterpart Shahid.
At present, India’s exports to the Maldives are worth $212 million, which is a miniscule part of the country’s total exports of over $300 billion. Its imports from the tropical country are negligible at round $5 million.
Last January there were reports that India had cut down on Maldive’s quota for essential commodities such as onions and eggs. The Indian government had denied the allegation and clarified that the quota for the items were based on the actual utilisation by the country in the recent past.
India’s relationship with Maldives improved significantly after pro-India opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won in the September 2018 elections and became the new president after defeating Abdulla Yameen, who was seen as being close to China.
“FM Shahid thanked the Government of India for the provision of financial assistance in the form of budgetary support, currency swap, and concessional lines of credit,” the statement said.
The Foreign Ministers welcomed the entry-into-force, on March 11 2019, of the Agreement on Visa Facilitation and expressed their commitment to address the issues related to the welfare of their respective communities residing in both countries, including the speedy provision of consular services.
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