The Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed, has confirmed that the free trade agreement with China will take effect within 20 days.

Speaking on MMTV's Rayyithunge Dhifaaugai programme, Minister Saeed stated that duties on 70 to 90 per cent of Chinese imports will be eliminated under the agreement, significantly reducing costs on a wide range of products.

The Minister also noted that under the currency swap agreement with India, imports from India can be paid for in Maldivian Rufiyaa starting next year.

The Government has also introduced India's instant payment system, RuPay cards, under the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).