Male, Maldives on Wednesday said both India and China have agreed to cooperate in efforts to pay for imports in their respective countries' currency instead of US dollars, giving Male about 50% of the annual US$1.5 million. There is a possibility of helping in saving percentage. Import bills from both the countries.
Maldives Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed said he had met Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahavar two weeks ago, who in turn said New Delhi would support and cooperate in arranging for settlement of import payments in Indian rupees.
Similarly, Saeed said, he had received a letter from China's Commerce Ministry two days ago, in which Beijing had assured that it would allow the option to settle import payments in the Chinese currency yuan as requested by President Mohammad Muizzu. Will cooperate.
Annually, the Maldives imports goods worth US$780 million and US$720 million from India and China respectively, the minister said in April when he announced that the Maldives was in discussions with India and China on whether the island nation could expand its Can pay for imports.Maldives countries in rufiyaa.
International trade between two countries in local currency is a mutually beneficial mechanism as it helps in saving each other's foreign exchange reserves. Furthermore, the move would mark a significant shift away from the predominant use of the US dollar in international transactions.
In July 2023, the Government of India announced that Maldives was one of the 2 countries that were given permission by the Reserve Bank of India to open Special Rupay Vostro Accounts (SRVA) as part of efforts to promote bilateral trade in local currencies.
News portal Sun.mv quoted Saeed speaking to state-run PS Media on Wednesday: “Maldives imports between USD 600-700 million worth of goods from India and China every year.Therefore, we import about US$1.4 billion to US$1.5 billion worth of goods annually from both the markets combined.
“We are in talks with both parties to make arrangements for ourselves so that, for example, for imports from China, the shipping company can bring the invoice and settle the payment through banks by converting Maldivian Rufiyaa into their local currency. To be. US dollars,” Saeed said, adding that this would save up to 50 per cent of the annual US$1.5 million in imports from the two countries.
“If we can arrange up to US$300 million from each country, it means US$70 million. This means that we can eliminate our dependence on the US dollar with that amount in the future.This will reduce the demand for dollars. And demand for the dollar will continue to decline in the future,” Saeed was quoted by Sun.mv as saying.
Saeed blamed the former administration for the poor state of finances and agreed that challenges remain as foreign countries are still skeptical of the Maldives but "it is slowly improving."
The new administration of the Maldives has said that the country's economic situation is "worrying", but the government is implementing strong financial reforms to improve the issue, including stopping printing money.
Earlier in April, while campaigning ahead of the parliamentary elections, Saeed Ha said that if the ruling party was able to win a majority in parliament, he would be able to "bring the dollar rate back to the official market value within about two years." Will be able to." ,
The People's National Congress (PNC) led by President Muizzu won a clear majority in the 87-member People's Majlis.
Maldives Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed said he had met Indian High Commissioner Munu Mahavar two weeks ago, who in turn said New Delhi would support and cooperate in arranging for settlement of import payments in Indian rupees.
Similarly, Saeed said, he had received a letter from China's Commerce Ministry two days ago, in which Beijing had assured that it would allow the option to settle import payments in the Chinese currency yuan as requested by President Mohammad Muizzu. Will cooperate.
Annually, the Maldives imports goods worth US$780 million and US$720 million from India and China respectively, the minister said in April when he announced that the Maldives was in discussions with India and China on whether the island nation could expand its Can pay for imports.Maldives countries in rufiyaa.
International trade between two countries in local currency is a mutually beneficial mechanism as it helps in saving each other's foreign exchange reserves. Furthermore, the move would mark a significant shift away from the predominant use of the US dollar in international transactions.
In July 2023, the Government of India announced that Maldives was one of the 2 countries that were given permission by the Reserve Bank of India to open Special Rupay Vostro Accounts (SRVA) as part of efforts to promote bilateral trade in local currencies.
News portal Sun.mv quoted Saeed speaking to state-run PS Media on Wednesday: “Maldives imports between USD 600-700 million worth of goods from India and China every year.Therefore, we import about US$1.4 billion to US$1.5 billion worth of goods annually from both the markets combined.
“We are in talks with both parties to make arrangements for ourselves so that, for example, for imports from China, the shipping company can bring the invoice and settle the payment through banks by converting Maldivian Rufiyaa into their local currency. To be. US dollars,” Saeed said, adding that this would save up to 50 per cent of the annual US$1.5 million in imports from the two countries.
“If we can arrange up to US$300 million from each country, it means US$70 million. This means that we can eliminate our dependence on the US dollar with that amount in the future.This will reduce the demand for dollars. And demand for the dollar will continue to decline in the future,” Saeed was quoted by Sun.mv as saying.
Saeed blamed the former administration for the poor state of finances and agreed that challenges remain as foreign countries are still skeptical of the Maldives but "it is slowly improving."
The new administration of the Maldives has said that the country's economic situation is "worrying", but the government is implementing strong financial reforms to improve the issue, including stopping printing money.
Earlier in April, while campaigning ahead of the parliamentary elections, Saeed Ha said that if the ruling party was able to win a majority in parliament, he would be able to "bring the dollar rate back to the official market value within about two years." Will be able to." ,
The People's National Congress (PNC) led by President Muizzu won a clear majority in the 87-member People's Majlis.