The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, chaired a meeting, this afternoon at the Newton Tower in Port Louis, to discuss with a delegation from Madagascar.
The Malagasy delegation comprised, amongst others, representatives of the Ministère de l’Industrialisation, du Commerce et de la Consommation de Madagascar, the Economic Development Board of Madagascar, as well as businesspersons from various associations. Officers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade and representatives of the Mauritius Export Association were also present on this occasion.
In a statement following the meeting, Minister Ganoo highlighted that, given the historical ties that exist between Mauritius and Madagascar and the track record that the two countries have in the textile industry, there is a need to further strengthen our bilateral cooperation, more so given the current global situation. He observed that the two countries are not competitors but are rather complementary and it is therefore necessary to continue to develop the existing synergy at the level of industrialisation and textile.
The Minister underlined that several items were discussed during the meeting, such as how Mauritius and Madagascar can complement each other when it comes to the growth of their respective textile industry. He further recalled that Madagascar has made available to Mauritius some 80 hectares of land in Moramanga for the setting-up of a textile centre and for which a Memorandum of Understanding has already been signed in March 2019. As such, he stated, it was agreed that, if need be, Mauritius would send a technical mission to Madagascar in the future to conduct the necessary studies in order to relaunch the project.
Minister Ganoo also indicated that the strategy to be adopted jointly with Madagascar so as to continue to benefit from African Growth and Opportunity Act after year 2025; the shipping lines that will connect Mauritius and the other islands of the Indian Ocean; as well as the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement were also on the agenda. The agro-industry sector and how Mauritius can benefit from Madagascar’s support in a bid to ensure better food security were also discussed during the meeting, he added.
