India and the Maldives have concluded BIT negotiations, with the agreement awaiting legal review
Both sides are fast-tracking a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to boost trade and investment
Bilateral trade rose 13.5% to $771.76 million in FY26
India and the Maldives finalized negotiations for a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) on July 7, with the text now undergoing legal vetting before it is signed, as the two countries simultaneously fast-track talks for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA), Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and visiting Maldivian Economic Development Minister Mohamed Saeed said on Wednesday.
The developments emerged from a meeting between the two ministers, during which they also discussed collaboration in tourism, startups, digital payments, and MSMEs.
"We have seen the fast, quick progress of FTA dialogue... both sides meet almost every day. BIT is concluded. We are just seeing the legal scrubbing process," Saeed said.
1 June 2026
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The relationship between the two countries is "soon going to get another fillip" with the signing of the BIT and, later, the FTA, Goyal said.
Trade and Investment Backdrop
Bilateral trade between India and the Maldives rose 13.5% to $771.76 million in 2025–26 from $690 million in 2024–25, with India's exports to the Maldives at $458.71 million and imports at $313 million. As a major trading partner, this reflects positive business ties between the two countries.
Indian exports to the Maldives include drugs and pharmaceuticals, radar apparatus, rock boulders, aggregates, cement, and agricultural products such as rice, spices, fruits, vegetables, and poultry.
Meanwhile, India primarily imports scrap metal from the Maldives.
Total foreign direct investment (FDI) from the Maldives into India stood at $12.65 million between April 2000 and March 2026. The new investment treaty is expected to increase that flow. India and the Maldives have had a trade agreement since 1981 covering exports of essential goods.
The completion of the negotiations marks a major step in strengthening economic ties between India and the Maldives, as it promotes and protects cross-border investments, and the agreement is expected to boost investor confidence.
Having recently implemented similar pacts with Israel and the UAE, India is now extending the framework to the Maldives, with the proposed FTA set to further strengthen bilateral trade and investment between the two nations.
