Maldives and China on Thursday ended the final round of negotiations of the free trade agreement between the two countries.
The two day negotiations kick-started in Bandos Island Resort on Wednesday saw both sides hash out the primary areas of the agreement.
Speaking to reporters after the sit-down, economic minister Mohamed Saeed said both sides, in principle had been able to agree to the terms.
The minister expressed confidence that the agreement would be signed in the middle of this year after ironing out the administrative process.
"Since this is a bilateral agreement there would understandably be terms from both sides. But we've been able to achieve a positive outcome for what we proposed. So I would have to say we've come out on top. Maldives would get a lot more China investments after the agreement is signed. Our exporters would be able to get their products to China without tariffs. And our fishermen would be able to get a foothold in the global market," Saeed explained.
Maldives and China entered into free trade talks in 2014 and had held four rounds of discussions.
Maldives is seeking tax exemption from all food and seafood products exported from the archipelago to China, which according to the government includes over 400 local products currently in the market.
China had also conducted research earlier this year into the potential advantages of entering such a deal with the island nation.
Government had announced plans to sign the agreement in June this year.
Maldives and Hong Kong are also engaged in talks to establish a similar agreement.
The free trade deal with China will mark the first time Maldives to enter into such an agreement with an individual country.
The island nation had earlier entered a regional agreement with South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) which includes all South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
The government had also announced plans to initiate more bilateral free trade agreements with nations including the US, UK, Japan and the European Union (EU).
