Recently Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, thanked his Indian counterpart External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, and the government of India for renewing the quota to allow the export of essential commodities but limited quantities for his country. This comes amid a diplomatic row between the two countries since November.
Zameer sincerely thanks EAM (Dr S Jaishankar) 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. He also said that this is truly a gesture that shows the longstanding friendship, and the strong commitment to further expand bilateral trade and commerce between the two countries.
The post comes a day after the Indian High Commission took to X and said that for the year 2024-2025, New Delhi allowed the export of certain quantities of essential commodities at the request of the Maldivian government and that it was being done under an exclusive bilateral mechanism. In 2022 the bilateral trade between India and Maldives crossed the $500 million mark. In its report, the Indian High Commission informed that the shares for each of these items have been reviewed upwards.
There has been a 5% upsurge in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour, and dal (pulses). Furthermore, the quota for river sand and stone aggregates which are essential for construction in the Maldives has been increased by 25 percent to 1,000,000 metric tons, each.
Since Maldives does not have enough sand to support its construction and is an island nation, river sand, and stone collections are considered vital. India stands firmly committed to its Neighborhood First and SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) policies. SAGAR is India’s policy on maritime cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, while New Delhi’s Neighborhood First policy highlights the country’s foreign policies in nations that are in its immediate neighborhood, including Maldives. In the past few months, the ties between India and Maldives have become strained. Last year, in November, pro-China Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, hours after being sworn in, demanded that Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms be repatriated from his country by the 10th of May. The relationship between New Delhi and Male worsened after certain officials from Muizzu’s government made crass remarks after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted photos and videos of the Lakshadweep Islands.
