Maldives
Maldives Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Dr Mohamed Shainee has revealed that China is to become the Maldives first free trade partner.
The Maldives and Chinese government have agreed to start discussions on a free trade agreement.
Explaining the boycott, Mohamed Hussain ‘Mundhu’ Shareef, minister at the President’s Office, said “Israeli investment is not important for us. We want investments from countries with human rights practices that are acceptable to us.”
Recent disputes, including the GMR-Maldives government row and the clash between foreign telecom firms Telenor, Sistema, Etisalat and Vodafone and the Indian government, have exposed India’s vulnerable position in investment agreements. While the foreign telecom companies can use a potent weapon - the ’investment protection’ clause in bilateral treaties - against India, GMR cannot do the same with Maldives.
The Maldives signed a framework agreement with the United States to open up the discussion on trade between the two countries.
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