India Maldives Trade

India extended two currency swap agreements to the Maldives, including an agreement worth $400 million and another worth Rs 3,000 crore, to help the island nation's access to foreign currency

Seeking to strengthen bilateral ties, India and the Maldives on Monday inked a currency swap agreement to the tune of USD 400 million, a move that would help the archipelago nation overcome foreign exchange reserve issues. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu also launched Rupay card in the Maldives, inaugurated the new runway at the Hanimadhoo International airport and agreed to further strengthen bilateral relations that had hit a rocky patch last year. Muizzu, who is on a four-day state visit, held talks with Prime Minister Modi at the Hyderabad House here. After the talks, India also handed over 700 social housing units to the Maldives built under the EXIM Bank's buyer's credit facilities. "Today, we have inaugurated the redeveloped Hanimaadhoo Airport. Now, the Greater Male Connectivity Project will also be expedited. We will also support the development of a new commercial port in Thilafushi," Modi told reporters here with Muizzu by his

Jaishankar and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Moosa Zameer jointly inaugurated 6 High Impact Projects

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday met Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and other top leaders and assured them that New Delhi attached top priority to its multifaceted relationship with Male and was determined to further its developmental cooperation with the country. Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives is the first high-level trip from New Delhi after the island nation's pro-China president, Muizzu, assumed office in November last year. "This visit is an opportunity to take stock of what our countries have achieved together as well as to chart out an aspirational blueprint for the coming years of what we are confident, will be a truly multifaceted partnership, Jaishankar said after talks with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer. "The bedrock of our partnership is the mutual benefit of our peoples," he said, noting that this is manifested in diverse sectors of our cooperation health, education, large infrastructure development, defence, maritime, agriculture, ...

India and Maldives on Sunday reiterated the "unwavering" commitment to fostering "continued close relations" and enhancing bilateral cooperation, as the two sides agreed to work together towards maintaining peace and stability in the Indian Ocean. India's High Commissioner in Maldives, Munu Mahawar, called on President Mohamed Muizzu at the President's Office on Sunday, a press release by the President's Office here said. Mahawar and Muizzu discussed avenues to further bolster ties between the two countries and spoke on various projects undertaken by India in the Maldives. Mahawar "expressed gratitude to the President for accepting the invitation and attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister His Excellency Narendra Modi for a new term," it said. Muizzu was in New Delhi last month to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Modi. It was his first visit to India after he became the island nation's president in November last year. Mahawar highlighted numerous ...

India on Thursday said it has not made any proposal to the Maldives for a bilateral free trade agreement (DTA) and that it was ready to consider if the island nation expresses interest for such a pact. "No specific proposal for a bilateral FTA with the Maldives has been made by the Government of India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. "If the Government of Maldives expresses interest in having an FTA with India, we will give it due consideration," he said. Jaiswal's comments came in response to a question at his weekly media briefing. Last week, Maldivian Minister for Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed indicated that India has initiated efforts to have an FTA between the two countries. "They (India) want there to be a Free Trade Agreement with Maldives, in addition to SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement)," Saeed told a press conference in Male. The Maldives President has offered this opportunity to all countries, Saeed said, adding that

Notwithstanding the turbulence in their bilateral ties, the Maldives will soon launch India's RuPay service, which a senior minister has said "will bolster the Maldivian Rufiyaa." RuPay, a product of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), is the first of its global card payment network in India, with wide acceptance at ATMs, POS devices, and e-commerce websites across India. Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed while announcing how both India and China have agreed to use local currency in bilateral trade, spoke about the upcoming launch of India's RuPay. The upcoming launch of India's RuPay service is anticipated to further bolster the Maldivian rufiyaa (MVR), Saeed told state-run PSM News on Wednesday. He also emphasised that addressing the dollar issue and reinforcing the MVR is a top priority for the current administration. However, there has been no announcement of any date for the launch. Last week, a news portal, CorporateMaldives.com, reporte

Capacity building is an "important component" in India's defence and security engagement with the Maldives and "we will be happy to take it forward" if New Delhi receives a request from Male for training their pilots, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Friday. Randhir Jaiswal, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson, made the comment during his weekly briefing in response to a query over reports on issues related to operation of an aviation platform in the Maldives. Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft, used primarily for medical evacuations. The last batch of Indian military personnel were repatriated by May 10, according to the deadline set following an agreement between the two countries in February. The MEA spokesperson said, "Yes, capacity building is an important component in our defence and security engagement with the Maldives. We have in the past trained their personnel on the defence si

Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer on Saturday said 76 Indian military personnel were replaced by civilian employees of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited which manufactured the helicopters gifted by India, thus also ending the suspense over the exact number of those repatriated. The Indian military personnel, stationed in the Maldives to operate two platforms for helicopters and a Dornier aircraft used primarily for medical evacuations, were repatriated by Friday, as per the May 10 deadline set following an agreement between the two countries in February in New Delhi. That agreement was a result of the demand of pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu made within hours of his assuming office in November. Local media reports on Saturday quoted Zameer addressing a press conference a day after he returned from his first official visit to India, detailing the presence of Indian soldiers stationed in Hanimaadhoo, Kadhdhoo and Gan. As many as 26 soldiers withdrew from Gan betwe

Nationalism, coupled with cheaper alternatives and ease of visa access to countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia, is driving Indian tourism away from the Maldives

The Maldives is currently discussing with India if the island nation can make payments for its imports from the country in Maldivian Rufiyaa, a senior minister has said. A similar arrangement is also being worked out for imports of goods from China, Minister for Economic Development Mohamed Saeed said and noted that annually, Maldives imports goods worth USD 780 million and USD 720 million from India and China respectively. According to the news portal Edition.mv, Saeed was speaking at an event held on the island of Maavah during President Mohamed Muizzu's visit to Laamu Atoll ahead of parliamentary elections on April 21. He stated that if the ruling party were able to secure a majority in Parliament, they would be able to bring the dollar rate back down to official market values within approximately two years. Saeed said his party was now getting all signals that there was a possibility to make non-dollar payments for all of these massive import arrangements. International trade

Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer on Saturday said India's gesture to renew the quota to allow the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for his nation signifies the longstanding bilateral friendship and the commitment to further expand trade and commerce. India allowed the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 at the request of the Maldives government, the Indian High Commission said here on Friday. Announcing the move through a post on social media platform X, the Indian High Commissioner said that this was being done under a unique bilateral mechanism under which the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards. The approved quantities are the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981, the notice by the mission said. Zameer took to X to thank India for the move. "I sincerely thank EAM @DrSJaishankar and the Government of #India for the renewal of the quota to enable #Maldives to import essentia

Mariyam Shiuna had shared a social media post showing an opposition party's poster with the Ashok Chakra in the middle

India, a leading exporter of rice, sugar and onions, has imposed various curbs on exports of these food commodities to keep a lid on local prices ahead of general election

Recently, Maldives Tourism Ministry data showed that the number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives has dropped by 33 per cent as compared to last year

Nasheed, currently in India, conveyed apologies on behalf of the Maldivian people and emphasised their wish for Indian tourists to continue visiting the country

Stepping up his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10, a media report said on Tuesday. Muizzu's statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the Maldives to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel. Addressing the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community during his tour across the atoll, the President stated that due to his government's success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation, a news portal Edition.mv reported. That these people [Indian military] are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing. We must not indulge such thoughts that insti

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said India will replace military personnel at aviation platforms in the Maldives with 'competent technical personnel'

India and Maldives will hold the second core group meeting in the national capital over the presence of Indian military personnel in the island nation, sources said

Amid the ongoing India-Maldives row, Alliance Air the only airline that operates to Lakshadweep has started additional flights