Recently, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of Bharat has refuted claims of offering any Free Trade Agreement (FTA) proposals to the Maldives. Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the MEA, clarified during a weekly press briefing that the Bharatiya government has not put forth any FTA proposal to the Maldives.
However, he stated that if the Maldives is considering an FTA with Bharat, it will be thoroughly examined by the Bharatiya authorities.
The clarification comes in response to statements made by Maldivian Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed regarding efforts to negotiate a new Free Trade Agreement between Maldives and Bharat.
#WATCH | Delhi: On Maldives FTA, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "No specific proposal for a bilateral FTA with the Maldives has been made by the Government of India. If the Government of Maldives expresses interest in having an FTA with India, we will give it due… pic.twitter.com/9FBwZKfeqE
— ANI (@ANI) May 30, 2024
Minister Saeed had reportedly mentioned that Bharat had expressed interest in a separate FTA with the Maldives, in addition to the existing South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA). Nevertheless, Jaiswal denied such claims, asserting that no formal proposal had been made from the Bharatiya side.
It’s worth noting that Maldives is a signatory to SAFTA, a regional agreement aimed at fostering economic growth and facilitating trade among South Asian countries. However, Maldives does not currently have FTAs with individual nations within the region, as reported by Maldivian news outlet.
In a separate but related development, earlier this month, the Bhartaiya government extended budgetary support to Maldives by rolling over a USD 50 million Treasury Bill for an additional year.
This move came in response to a request made by Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. The State Bank of India subscribed to the Treasury Bill under a unique government-to-government arrangement, providing interest-free support to the Maldives.
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The extension of the Treasury Bill subscription was hailed as a gesture of goodwill by the Maldivian government. Foreign Minister Zameer expressed gratitude towards Bharatiya External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the continued support extended by Bharat to Maldives. This budgetary assistance further strengthens the bilateral relations between the two countries.
As the diplomatic exchanges continue, the possibility of a Free Trade Agreement between Bharat and Maldives remains under scrutiny, with both sides navigating the intricacies of economic cooperation amidst geopolitical dynamics in the region.
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