Mauritius will continue to pursue its engagement with its friendly partners and international organisations with the objective of generating mutual goodwill and building stronger relationships.
The Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo, made this statement today at a reception for the diplomatic corps, the annual Vin d’Honneur, held at Le Suffren Hotel and Marina, in Port-Louis.
Minister Ganoo observed that the prevailing COVID-19 situation over the past two years has hampered, to some extent, people to people contact and the holding of bilateral visits. He underlined that improvement in sanitary conditions is expected to boost cooperation by enhancing high-level exchanges between different countries.
“We need to work together in a concerted and coordinated manner at bilateral, regional and international levels”, he said. For him, crucial matters of concern such as health, vaccination, food security, climate change, maritime and air connectivity, are already high on development agendas of the African Union and the United Nations.
He indicated that this has been an exceptional year on the international trade arena, with the coming into force of four new trade agreements, namely the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA); the UK-Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA); the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) with India; and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). These new trade agreements, he added, have opened up great opportunities for the country to nurture and strengthen trade and economic relations with other countries.
Speaking on the delisting of Mauritius from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) list and UK’s list of High-Risk countries, he highlighted that the country is also in the process of exiting the EU blacklist, with the support and assistance of partner countries.
Minister Ganoo expressed gratitude, on behalf of the Government, to all diplomatic missions and international organisations which have responded positively and promptly in Mauritius’s fight against the pandemic through the donation of vaccines, medical supplies and materials, and expertise.
For her part, the High Commissioner of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to Mauritius and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, Ms Rezina Ahmed, indicated that the collective efforts of diplomats will help pave the way to building sustainable societies. With regard to the COVID-19, she stated that the strong involvement of the Mauritian Government has enabled for the introduction of timely and effective measures for the welfare of the population.
