A Mauritian delegation, including Vidia Mooneegan and Kevin Ramkaloan, respectively President and CEO of Business Mauritius, Jacques d’Unienville, CEO of Omnicane, and Anil Currimjee, President of the Currimjee Jeewanjee Group, took part in the third Rencontre des Entrepreneurs de France, held in Paris from 24 to 26 August, under the theme “À l’air libre”. Vidia Mooneegan also signed a partnership agreement with MEDEF International on Friday 27 August.
The event, spearheaded by the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF) and aimed at sealing a unique business community in the world, welcomed some 25 business organisations, including Business Mauritius, and all signed the Paris Declaration on the reinforcement of the economic Francophonie.
“Through the signing of these agreements, Business Mauritius contributes to the economic development of Mauritius and to the influence of the country abroad. Our social, cultural and economic history is intimately Francophone. Our economic development is therefore combined within this vast market, with a strong potential for growth,” said Vidia Mooneegan, President of Business Mauritius, adding that French-speaking countries now account for 16% of world GDP, with an average pre-pandemic growth rate of 7%.
With the signing of the Paris Declaration, Business Mauritius is paving the way for Mauritian companies to enter new growth markets. This agreement marks the annualisation of a Francophone economic meeting (LaREF Francophone) and the transformation of the steering committee into a permanent platform for dialogue and coordination of Francophone employers, prefiguring a more profound structuring of their actions in the long term.
The signatories include 25 employers’ organisations from the French-speaking world, notably from Belgium, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, France, Gabon, Guinea, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Morocco, Mauritania, Mauritius, Monaco, Niger, Quebec, Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Switzerland, Chad, Togo, and Tunisia.
In addition, Business Mauritius and MEDEF International, a privileged service of support for the French private sector in international development, signed a declaration of intent on Friday 27 August. Through this signature, the two associations show their ambition to cooperate in order to strengthen the capacities of the institutions. This partnership will contribute to the existing effort of regional cooperation and internationalisation of the Mauritian and French economies towards an African focus.
“The richness of the Mauritius-France relationship lies, among others, in the exchanges between our companies. Our economic successes inevitably depend on greater cooperation. Business Mauritius has been contributing for a long time to strengthen these exchanges, notably through the setting up of large-scale events around the three strategic axes of our organisation, namely sustainable and inclusive development, economic development and social capital,” said Kevin Ramkaloan, CEO of Business Mauritius.
