Parliament’s Committee on Economic Affairs held a closed-door meeting on Monday, which was attended by officials from Economic Ministry to discuss the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the Maldives and China.
The Committee’s agenda for Monday included meeting officials from Economic Ministry regarding the FTA with China.
At the onset of the meeting, ruling PNC’s Central Mahchangolhi MP Ahmed Sameer said there many confidential information were going to be discussed in the Committee and as such, proposed to hold the meeting behind closed doors. Sameer’s proposal was backed by PNC’s Hoarafushi MP Ali Moosa.
Main opposition MDP’s Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyadh disagreed, citing that the agenda for Monday’s meeting involves discussing the FTA with China alongside officials from the Economic Ministry. He argued that this is not a matter that warrants confidentiality.
“The topic is Free Trade Agreement. It is not something that should be regarded as confidential. If it is, it will instill fear among the public,” he stressed.
Ziyadh’s proposal against holding the meeting behind closed doors was backed by MDP’s Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir.
It was also supported by MDP’s Kanditheemu MP, who argued that the majority of information related to the agreement was already public. As such, he expressed his belief that there would be no further topics up for discussion that could be regarded as confidential.
Despite protests from MDP lawmakers, ruling PNC lawmakers used its majority to approve a closed-door meeting.
Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed attended the meeting, as confirmed by remarks from the Committee’s Chairperson, Central Fuvahmulah MP Ali Fazad, who is also a PNC lawmaker.
After a two-year discussion, Maldives signed its FTA with China during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom’s administration in December 2014, which however, was approved in November 2017 following parliament approval.
Despite implementation in 2017, former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s administration – that succeeded Yameen’s presidency – did not put the agreement to effect. The current administration put the agreement into effect on January 1st of this year.
Economic Ministry has previously stated that the FTA aims to enhance trade volumes, increase productive capacity, reduce trade barriers, and create new business opportunities for businesses in both Maldives and China.
The ministry said that under the FTA, both nations will benefit from reduced tariffs and improved market access commitments.
While Maldives already engages in USD 700 million worth trade with China, the government said the implementation of the FTA is expected to boost this figure to USD 1 billion.
Notably, a decrease has been observed in state revenue earned from import duty since the FTA came into effect. In this regard, revenue earned from import duty stood at MVR 1.23 billion as of June 12th – marking a 16 percent decrease.
However, Minister Saeed has denied any correlation between this change and the FTA.