Maldives
Maldives planning to scrap FTA with China to protect trade relationship with other nations
Male: Maldives may soon scrap Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China to protect its trade relationship with other countries, media reports said.
The FTA established between Maldives and China during the regime of former president Abdulla Yameen will hinder trade relations with other countries, Maldives’ economic minister Fayyaz Ismail was quoted as saying by The Economic Times.
The FTA with China was approved by Parliament in 2017 during Yameen’s tenure. Ismail said he feels that FTA is unacceptable.
“My personal opinion is that the FTA is unacceptable and should not have been signed,” he told the newspaper.
“The trade links we have established over time will be destroyed if we go ahead with the FTA. This means we will have nothing to fall back on. Our trade relations with Singapore, Dubai and India will all be in vain. Of course, all businesses will opt for Chinese products if goods are available at lower costs,” he said.
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