India to help develop Maldives economy: PM

MALE: India has offered all possible support for the economic development of Maldives and will intensify efforts to step up cooperation in tourism, human resource development, information technology and other areas.
"India would be happy to extend all possible assistance to promote Maldives'' economic development," Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who is on a four-day official visit to Maldives said in interviews published in newspapers.
Indian exports to Maldives comprising agricultural and poultry products, sugar, fruits, vegetables, spices, flour, textiles, medicines and a variety of engineering and industrial products touched Rs.188.6 crore in 2001, registering an increase of over Rs 20 crore over the previous year.
In contrast, Indian imports from Maldives consisting primarily of Cowrie Shells and Red Corals was a nominal Rs 1.31 crore last year.
Vajpayee said the two countries were actively considering expanding cooperation in tourism, one of the two major economic sectors in this Indian ocean country.
The number of Indian tourists visiting Maldives has shown an increase of 18.2 per cent but it still consitutes only 3.3 per cent of the market. At present, Germans consitute the single largest group of foreign tourists visiting these serene islands.
Minister of state for tourism Vinod Khanna, who is accompanying the Prime Minister, is holding discussions with his Maldivian counterparts to impart a new impetus to collaboration in this mutually beneficial sector.