The government will ease trade barriers with India to promote trade between the two countries and accelerate foreign investment. Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed is currently leading a delegation in India to facilitate trade.
Indian financial newspaper Business Standard claimed Indian companies, including Tata, Suzlon, GMR, Apollo Hospitals and Oberoi, could invest as much as US$1 billion in the Maldives and significantly boost the country’s economy.
The Standard also reported that the Maldives foreign ministry will increase the leasing periods for resort development to 50 years and reduce the base rent in a bid to promote foreign investment in the hospitality sector.
Ahmed Naseem, state minister for foreign affairs said “many items that are traded between countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) will have tariffs eased on them, and this will make trade between the countries easier.”
Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Dnyaneshwar Mulay, said such a move would benefit the Maldivian economy.
“The lower tariffs will make exports and imports cheaper and make the market more competitive,” he said, adding that such a deal would also encourage the Maldives to increase its own exports.
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I do not agree with lowering tarriffs of rents in tourism sector. Maldives tourism inductry is easily among the most profitable in the world. It is a mature industry capable of looking after itself without government handouts.
Maldives now needs to diversify its economy. Our economy and nation should not so heavily rely on one industry, let alone one that can be severely affected by the actions of a single lunatic.
We need to realise the same seas and beaches can be harvested with products rather than just services. We need to figure out the great advantages separate islands have for agriculture - may specialised forms of pure plant and animal products that need isolation from main land.
We need to ancourage foreign investment in these fields and other fields of services sector rather than tourism. We need to feel more secure as a nation. We need to diversify our economy.
let those lovely indian rupees roll on in, i say
The government is incompetent to make effective decision. Any one who have studied basic economics will understand that foreign investment will leak more foreign currency from the economy and this is leaving the Maldives economy in a quagmire. The amount of foreign investment is undermining and narrowing the opportunities to the local investors. It would have been better the government works billaterally to find finance to local investors.