• Source:JND
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India-Maldives Relations: Maldives thanked India for allowing the export of essential goods to the island nation amid strained ties between the countries. Conveying his "sincere" thanks to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as well as the Indian government for the move, Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer said that it "signifies the longstanding friendship" between the two nations.

India has allowed the export of essential goods to the Maldives at the request of the island nation's government, the Indian High Commission in Male said on Friday. Calling it a display of strong commitment to supporting the human-centric development in the island nation, the commission said that this was being done "under a unique bilateral mechanism" under which the quotas for each of these items have been increased.

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"I sincerely thank EAM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for the renewal of the quota to enable #Maldives to import essential commodities from India during the years 2024 and 2025," the Maldivian Foreign Minister wrote in a post on social media platform X. "This is truly a gesture which signifies the longstanding friendship, and the strong commitment to further expand bilateral trade and commerce between our two countries," he added.

Bilateral Agreement Between India And Maldives

Notably, a bilateral trade agreement between Maldives and India was signed in 1981, which made it easier for the country to import several necessary items. As per the latest announcement, there has also been an increase of 5 per cent in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses). The allocation for stone aggregates and river sand—two essential commodities for the Maldives' rapidly expanding construction sector—has been raised by 25 per cent to 1,000,000 metric tonnes.

The High Commission of India in the Maldives stated that the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards. "Upon the request of the Government of Maldives, the Government of India has allowed for export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 under a unique bilateral mechanism, wherein, the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards," the Commission posted on X on Thursday.

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