|
Sarkaritel.com News and
Features
Jairam Ramesh to Visit Maldives for Intensifying Economic
Coop.
New Delhi, January 29, 2008
The Minister of State of Commerce, Jairam Ramesh will be
visiting Maldives from January 29th to 31st as part of his
drive to expand trade and investment ties within SAARC. He has
already visited Bangladesh and is scheduled to be in Sri Lanka
in two weeks time. Interactions with delegations from
Pakistani and Bhutan have also taken place. In addition,
Ramesh has visited all the important border trade centres in
the region including Petrapole, Moreh and Attari/Wagah. The
visit assumes significance in light of the forthcoming SAFTA
Ministerial meeting in New Delhi on March 1st-2nd, 2008.
Ramesh will also review the working of the Indo-Maldives Trade
Agreement of 1981 in light of the changes that have taken
place in the economies of both countries. India supplies
essential commodities like rice, wheat flour, eggs, potatoes,
stones and sand as part of this Agreement. Even though wheat
exports from India are banned, as a measure of the importance
it attaches to SAARC in general and Maldives in particular,
India supplies wheat flour to Maldives.
India accounts for around 10-11% of Maldives imports, next to
Singapore and Sri Lanka and is on par with UAE. Exports from
India to Maldives are presently in the region of about $ 100
million. Singapore accounts for almost 90% of the FDI into
Maldives, followed by Malaysia. Jairam Ramesh’s visit is to
explore how India can expand its trade and investment presence
in Maldives, a country of great strategic significance to it.
Fisheries is one important area for bilateral cooperation that
is proposed to be discussed during Ramesh’s visit. Cooperation
in tuna is one specific area that will be discussed now that
India has also announced major plans to develop its tuna
resources, particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. n
addition, Maldives has sought India’s assistance to develop it
as a trans-shipment and logistics hub because of its strategic
location. Maldives has also expressed in expanding the scope
of training in IT.
E-Mail :
newseditor@sarkaritel.com |
