Parliament holds emergency sitting to pass Maldives-China free trade deal
The FTA was passed at an emergency sitting held on Thursday night
The FTA was passed at an emergency sitting held on Thursday night
The People's Majlis has on Wednesday, passed to establish a free trade agreement between the Maldives and China.
The vote was taken at an emergency parliament sitting held on Wednesday night, attended by 30 members. It was passed unanimously by those in attendance, while opposition parliamentarians opted to not attend the sitting.
A parliament sitting was scheduled for 2:30 pm on Wednesday, after the agreement was submitted to parliament. It was then sent to the parliament's oversight committee on national security affairs, which convened behind closed doors, at 3 pm.
Some opposition members claim to not having received a notice regarding the sitting, or the following committee meeting. Opposition members have been boycotting parliament sittings since the controversial no-confidence motion was submitted against speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed. According to them, parliament sittings are being held 'unlawfully'.
Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed testified at the committee meeting held behind closed doors, and around 10 minutes after, the committee decided to approve the agreement. The minister also revealed plans to establish free trade agreements between other nations, including Hong Kong, Japan, USA and UK.
Incumbent President Abdulla Yameen first spoke of a possible Free Trade Agreement between the two countries in 2015. He claimed that this agreement will allow both nations to continue trade goods and services with each other 'with zero percent duty', and that 'this will be beneficial for the people'.
China is one of the closest allies of the current administration, with most of the development projects being handed over to Chinese companies.
