Reports on India reducing essential goods' exports to Maldives 'misleading', requirements calculated on actual utilisation, says MEA

New Delhi: India on Monday dubbed as “misleading” media reports that it had reduced exports of essential goods to Maldives, saying requirements were calculated based on actual utilisation in the recent past and were consistent with the trade agreement between the two sides. According to reports in a section of the media, India has lowered the limits on the export of certain essential commodities such as potatoes and onions to Maldives. Reacting to the media reports, that come amid a strain in bilateral ties, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar reiterated that India remains firmly committed to strong people-to-people ties between the two countries and will ensure that the people of Maldives do not have to endure any hardships. [caption id=“attachment_4417935” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Maldives president Abdulla Yameen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Image courtesy: @PMOIndia/Twitter[/caption] “The reports are misleading. As highlighted in the recent notification by the Director General of Foreign Trade, the requirements are calculated based on actual utilisation in recent past and is consistent with the mechanism of the trade agreement signed between India and Maldives in 1981,” Kumar said. India’s ties with Maldives nose-dived after it criticised the Abdulla Yameen government for imposing a 45-day emergency in the archipelago nation earlier this year. During the crisis, India had ignored calls for military intervention from the Opposition parties in the island nation. The influence of China on Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, considered a backyard of India, has been growing and it is seen as a concern in New Delhi. Maldives neither participated in the multi-national ‘MILAN’ naval conclave, a congregation of littoral navies conducted biennially by the Indian Navy at the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which was held in mid-March this year, nor did its defence minister lead his country’s delegation to take part in DefExpo2018.