Türkiye, Maldives seal comprehensive trade deal

ISTANBUL

Türkiye and the Maldives have signed a comprehensive trade agreement that significantly reduces and, in some cases, eliminates customs duties across a wide range of goods.

The preferential trade agreement was signed in Istanbul on Nov. 4 by Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and Maldivian Economic Development and Trade Minister Mohamed Saeed.

Under this agreement, the Maldives has opened its market to Türkiye with tariff quotas on various goods, ranging from cosmetics to electrical machinery and devices, furniture, iron and steel products.

In certain categories, tariffs will be entirely lifted, while in others, they will be substantially reduced.

Türkiye, in turn, has secured tariff quotas in the Maldives for various agricultural products in which it holds a competitive edge globally.

“The products granted tariff quotas under this agreement represent around $25 billion of our global exports,” Bolat remarked during the ceremony.

The Turkish minister further highlighted that the tariff quotas Türkiye has extended to the Maldives include fishery products, thereby creating opportunities for Maldivian companies to export to Türkiye.

Bolat emphasized that the agreement is not limited to trade in goods, noting that it also encompasses regulatory provisions on health and phytosanitary standards, technical barriers to trade, customs procedures and trade facilitation measures.

The two countries, whose bilateral trade volume reached $33.5 million in 2023, aim to exceed $100 million in the near term under this new agreement. Subject to the completion of final arrangements by the two ministries, the agreement is expected to come into force on Jan. 1, 2025.

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu made his first official overseas visit to Türkiye from Nov. 26-29, 2023, soon after his election. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s 2005 visit to the Maldives, then as prime minister, marked Türkiye’s first official state visit to the country.