A fervent desire on the part of India to lift the traditional assistance and trade-driven cooperation with Maldives to a comprehensive relationship structure comprising economic and academic cooperation and a healthy two-way trade regime is in evidence as Minister of State for Cooperation Jairam Ramesh began discussions with Ministers and officials here on Tuesday.
Mr. Ramesh, on a three-day visit to Maldives as part of his drive to expand trade and investment ties within the SAARC countries, told The Hindu that the time has come for India to take a hard look at its economic cooperation with Maldives and make it more proactive and even unilateral when it came to responding to the aspirations of a rich and young society that was trying to achieve its political and economic aspirations in a changing world.
Maldives is the third stopover for Mr. Ramesh. He had visited Bangladesh and Pakistan and is scheduled to visit Sri Lanka within the next two weeks.
The Minister’s tour of the SAARC nations and interactions with delegations is in preparation for the SAFTA Ministerial meeting in New Delhi on March 1 and 2.
“We have to send a signal that India’s perspective vis-À-vis SAARC countries is changing; that we are no longer prisoners of reciprocity and that we are sensitive to the concerns of our partners,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Pointing out that Maldives was one of the outstanding economic success stories of the past three decades with 7 per cent GDP growth and a per capita income in the region of $3000, Mr. Ramesh said India had to see how it could go beyond trade to investment and cooperation in diverse areas.
The present level of trade and investment interactions between the two countries was not commensurate with the potential. With a 11 per cent share, India was behind Singapore and Sri Lanka in exports to Maldives and there was scope for improvement here.
“In private investment, we figure nowhere, compared to Singapore and Malaysia.”
Mr. Ramesh identified the expansion of the list of items traded between the countries, making of the annual assessment of Maldives’ import requirements automatic, cooperation in the fisheries sector (particularly in tuna fishing), and greater Indian engagement in Maldives’ higher education needs as some of the areas where the two countries could have fruitful joint initiatives.
While India’s exports to Maldives during 2006 were worth Rs. 384 crore, imports were worth less than Rs. 6 crore.
“We must import more items and quantities from Maldives,” he said.
The Minister, who is being accompanied by Marine Products Export Development Authority chairman G. Mohan Kumar, said he would focus on bilateral cooperation in tuna fishing and processing during his talks with Maldivian officials.
India has already announced major plans to develop its tuna resources, particularly in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Fisheries in Maldives faces a challenge as from 2011, the country will lose its duty-free benefits in Europe.
Source: hindu.com
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