Discussions have been held between officials of the Maldives and the US, regarding expanding US trade and investment in the Maldives.
The first meeting of the Joint Council of the Maldives-US Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) held yesterday at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was launched by Michael Delaney, Assistant US Trade Representative for South Asia, and Mohamed Saeed, Minister of Economic Development of Maldives.
The Embassy of the US for Sri Lanka and Maldives said in a press release that the two countries originally signed the TIFA in October 2009, establishing the forum as the premier venue to promote bilateral trade and investment and resolve issues. This first meeting discussed procedures for more robust engagement, as well as touched on topics such as labor, intellectual property, and the investment climate.
“Our team comes from multiple US government agencies and has been looking forward to returning to the Maldives to learn more about both the trade and investment conditions and the labor environment,” said Delaney.
The embassy said that TIFA Councils normally meet at least once a year at senior levels of government, and that TIFAs serve as a forum for the US and other governments to meet and discuss issues of mutual interest to improve cooperation and enhance opportunities for trade and investment. The US and its TIFA partners consult on a wide range of issues including market access issues, labor, the environment, protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, and – in appropriate cases – capacity building, the US embassy said.
The US has TIFAs with countries at many different levels of development and trade and investment interests, with almost 50 TIFAs in every region of the world.