Male: India has offered all possible support for the economic development of Maldives and intensify efforts to step up co-operation in tourism, human resource development, information technology and other areas.

"India would be happy to extend all possible assistance to promote Maldives' economic development," Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, who is on a four-day official visit to Maldives said in interviews, published in newspapers in Male.

Indian exports to Maldives comprising agricultural and poultry products, sugar, fruits, vegetables, spices, flour, textiles, medicines and a variety of engineering and industrial products touched Rs 188.6 crore in 2001, registering an increase of over Rs 20 crore over the year 2000.

In contrast, Indian imports from Maldives consisting primarily of cowrie shells and red corals were a nominal Rs 1.31 crore in 2001.

Vajpayee said the two countries were actively considering expanding co-operation in tourism, one of the two major economic sectors in this Indian Ocean country.

The number of Indian tourists visiting Maldives has shown an increase of 18.2 per cent but it still constitutes only 3.3 per cent of the market. At present, Germans constitute the single largest group of foreign tourists visiting these serene islands.

Minister of State for Tourism Vinod Khanna, who is accompanying the Prime Minister, is holding discussions with his Maldivian counterparts to impart a new impetus to collaboration in this mutually beneficial sector.

PTI