The Monitoring and Coordination Committee of the prospection mission to Iran, comprising representatives of both the public and private sectors, held its first meeting, today, at the Conference Room of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade in Port Louis.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, and the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mr Soodesh Callichurn, co-chaired the meeting.
In his remarks for the occasion, Minister Ganoo underlined that the purpose of the Monitoring and Coordination Committee’s meeting was to take stock of the outcome of the recent mission and to discuss its implementation aspects. He called on the representatives of the business community to share their eventual difficulties as well as to exchange on their respective action plans and business strategy to tap into identified potential areas of collaboration.
According to Mr Ganoo, the Committee would provide the ideal platform to meet, discuss and keep track of the progress made with respect to objectives set by Government; ensure the successful implementation of key signed Memoranda of Understanding between Mauritius and Iran; and materialise the cooperation in various sectors identified with a view to boosting up the Mauritian economy.
The Foreign Affairs Minister also reiterated the commitment of Government to reinforce the Mauritius-Iran bilateral relations, citing the confidence building measures undertaken to contribute to a conducive environment for talks. He informed that Mauritius was looking forward to welcoming the Iranian Foreign Minister during his upcoming tour in the Southern Africa region.
As for Minister Callichurn, he deemed his prospect mission in Iran a success beyond expectations mainly regarding the untapped potentials. He recalled his participation in the first Mauritius-Iran Economic Forum, organised by the Economic Development Board (EDB), and in the Iran-Mauritius Tourism Forum. He talked, too, of his meetings with the Foreign Minister and the Minister of Petroleum of Iran.
Moreover, Mr Callychurn announced that Cabinet had approved and ratified the opening of an Economic and Trade Office in Iran, which would assist in facilitating business interactions between the two countries. He also spoke of the mutual decision for the setting up of a joint working group between Mauritius and Iran which would provide an ideal platform to explore and materialise cooperation across a number of identified sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, health, media, tourism.
The Commerce Minister invited members of the Monitoring and Coordination Committee to reflect on the mutual endeavour to pursue the business objectives set during the recent mission and to work towards materialising business opportunities. He stressed that the Committee would not only assist to reinforce the bilateral relations between Mauritius and Iran but also serve to boost the Mauritian economy at such a crucial period.
The setting up of the Committee followed the prospection mission of the Minister of Labour, Human Resource Development and Training, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Protection to the Islamic Republic of Iran from 11 to 21 August 2022.
The objective of the mission was to explore the potential that Iran had to offer to Mauritius in several sectors including health, agriculture, investment, tourism, air services, and the sourcing of commodities. During the mission to Iran, Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) were signed between the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Iran and Shiraz Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, respectively.
