Maldives government has proposed to the Turkish government a reduction in tariffs on 214 items exported from the Maldives under the Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and the Maldives.
The proposal was discussed during the second round of negotiations for the Türkiye and Maldives Preferential Trade Agreement, held via an online meeting attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Maldives and their Turkish counterparts.
Minister of Trade and Economic Development Mohamed Saeed highlighted that the meeting focused on ways to facilitate the import and sale of Maldivian products in Türkiye. As such, Maldives has requested Türkiye to ease import tariffs on goods from the Maldives, with proposed tariff reductions on 214 export items. The ongoing negotiations aim to provide local exporters with preferential access to the Turkish market, offering concessional import tariffs and reducing non-tariff barriers, added the minister.
Further discussions on the tariff reductions are anticipated between the two countries to finalise the agreement.
This development comes in the wake of the first official visit abroad since taking office by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, during which both nations signed agreements to bolster trade, economic, and social ties.