Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to the Neighborhood First and Sagar policies. In fact, the ice in India-Maldives relations has not yet melted. Despite this, India maintained its decision to export essential goods to the island nation. In this regard, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Musa Jamir, expressed gratitude to India, to which Jaishankar reiterated New Delhi’s commitment to its policy.
Musa Jamir tweeted: “I thank Foreign Minister Dr. Jaishankar and the Government of India for renewing the quota to allow the Maldives to import essential goods from India during 2024 and 2025. This step by India reflects a long-standing friendship. This reflects the commitment to a strong bilateral relationship.
Responding to the Maldivian Foreign Minister’s thanks, Jaishankar said, ‘You’re welcome Nightingale. India is strongly committed to its Neighborhood First and Ocean Policy.
What is the first neighborhood policy?
India’s Neighborhood First Policy means giving priority to neighboring countries in its policy decisions i.e. ‘neighbourhood first’. India’s neighboring countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The policy aims to improve physical, digital and people-to-people connectivity and improve trade and commerce across the region.
Sugar, wheat and potatoes are also included in the list
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) issued a notification in this regard on Friday and gave this information. In this notification, DGFT said that these goods will be exported under the bilateral trade agreement between the two countries. Accordingly, restricted export of essential commodities like sugar, wheat, rice and onion to the Maldives will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibitions in the financial year 2024-25.
India will export these goods to Maldives
At the same time, the Indian High Commissioner said in a post on the social media platform that the approved quantity of goods for export under the bilateral trade agreement signed in 1981 is the highest this time. The items India will export to the Maldives include rice 124,218 tonnes, wheat flour 109,162 tonnes, sugar 64,494 tonnes, potatoes 21,513 tonnes, onions 35,749 tonnes, stones and sand 10 lakh tonnes and 42.75 tonnes egg.
Therefore there was bitterness between the two
This announcement from India came against the backdrop of the dispute between the two countries that began in November last year, when President Mohammed Moizu demanded that India withdraw 88 of its military personnel from the country within hours of the swearing-in. Subsequently, relations between the two countries worsened when Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted pictures and videos of his visit to the island of Lakshadweep on social media. About which three Maldivian officials made lewd remarks. Which resulted in strong opposition to the Maldives from Indians including many celebrities. At the same time, due to the #BoycottMaldives campaign, there has also been a large decrease in the number of Indian tourists in the island nation.
