NEW DELHI, MAY 30 : India on Thursday said it has not made any specific proposal for a bilateral trade agreement with the Maldives, but added it is ready to consider such a proposal if the Indian Ocean archipelago nation is keen on it.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, answering queries at his media briefing, said: “We have seen some reports of the minister speaking about re-offering FTA. We haven’t done so, but if the Maldives if they want to, if they are considering FTA with us, we will surely look into it.”

Maldivian Minister for Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed said last week that India has initiated efforts to have an FTA between the two countries.

“They (India) want there to be a Free Trade Agreement with Maldives, in addition to SAFTA (South Asian Free Trade Agreement),” Saeed told a press conference in Male.

India’s ties with the Maldives have not been too happy ever since President Mohamed Muizzu, seen as pro-China, came to office in November last year.

Muizzu, whose election plank was based on the ‘India Out’ campaign, demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country.

On May 10, India withdrew the last of the Indian military personnel manning the three aviation platforms on the Maldives. On May 9, Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer visited India – in the first official visit from the Muizzu government to India.(UNI)