The governments of Maldives and Turkey are currently in negotiations to enter a preferential trade agreement.

This was revealed by the Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed via a post on social media platform ‘X’, announcing that efforts are underway to take the relations between the two countries, to the next level.

Saeed’s post on ‘X’ reads that the government of Maldives is making a lot of efforts to strengthen the bilateral relations enjoyed with Turkey, in the areas of trade and economy

He added that several efforts were launched to strengthen trade ties between Maldives and Turkey, following President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s visit to Turkey after assuming office in 2023.

The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade announced that the first round of trade negotiations on the preferential trade agreement both governments are about to enter, was held on Wednesday afternoon. Senior officials from both governments engaged in discussions at the meeting.

The president’s first trip abroad since taking oath of office, was to Turkey.

Turkey has been providing support for the Maldivian government in multiple sectors.

In a recent ceremony held to launch the Maldives National Defence Force's (MNDF) Air Corps and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), President Muizzu expressed heartfelt gratitude for the continuous support the government of Turkey has provided to enhance the island nation’s military capabilities.

Muizzu expressed gratitude to the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for the unceasing assistance his government has provided in expanding the Maldives' military capabilities.

Shedding light on the commencement of surveilling the Maldivian waters for the first time using UAVs, the president noted that the President of Turkey has played a pivotal role in realizing this goal.

Muizzu expressed hope to see the number of gifted UAVs increase through the close bilateral ties enjoyed between the two countries. Muizzu noted that most of it was received through grant aid from Turkey.