India has increased the quota of eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses) by 5 percent.
New Delhi: In a big move amid the India-Maldives diplomatic row, the Government of India has allowed for the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024–25 under a unique bilateral mechanism. Upon request by the current Maldivian President, led by Mohamed Muizzu, India has revised the quotas for a list of selected items. Notably, the approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981.
List of Items For Which Quota Revised
The quota for river sand and stone aggregates, crucial items for the booming construction industry in the Maldives, has been increased by 25% to 1,000,000 MT. There has also been an increase of 5% in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses).
In the latest measure, India has increased the quota of essential items including eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour, and dal by 5% for the Maldives; the quota for river sand and stone aggregates also increased by 25%. The Maldives government requested essential items from India under the 1981 trade pact. India not only agrees for essential items but also revises the upward quota for the commodities.
Last year as well, India continued exporting rice, sugar and onions to the Maldives in spite of a worldwide ban on the export of these items from India. India remains strongly committed to supporting human-centric development in the Maldives as part of its ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
‘Maldives Still Considers India A Friend’
The Maldives still considers India a friend, the tourism-dependent country’s economic minister has said while defending President Mohamed Muizzu’s stand against the presence of “foreign soldiers” in the archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean.
Within hours of taking the oath last November, Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, asked India to withdraw its 88 military personnel from the country, saying their presence was a threat to the Maldives’ sovereignty.
During an interview with Turkey-based news outlet TRT World on Wednesday, Maldives’ Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed was asked whether Male can be friends with both China and India, to which he responded that Maldives is a friend of all countries, not just the two.
“I think the Maldives is a friend of all the countries, not only two countries. We are a tourist country and open to the world. As a holiday destination, we are appreciated by both Chinese and Indians. As far as trade is concerned, both markets are important to the Maldives,” the Sun.mv news portal quoted Saeed as saying.
(With inputs from agencies)
