Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Demetrios Marantis began a visit to Mauritius January 17 by leading a high-level U.S. delegation for talks with the Mauritian government under the U.S.-Mauritius Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The TIFA establishes a high-level forum for advancing a cooperative partnership on trade and investment issues, and this was the fifth TIFA Council meeting with Mauritius.

Marantis and Mauritian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade Arvin Boolell met with a wide range of government and private-sector participants. They discussed the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the World Trade Organization (WTO) Doha negotiations and trade facilitation, the ongoing U.S.-Mauritius Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) discussions, intellectual property rights (IPR), services trade, information and communication technology (ICT) principles, and trade-capacity building, among other issues.

As a result of the TIFA discussions, the two governments agreed on a number of key issues, including conclusion of the BIT, negotiation of a joint statement on ICT principles, technical support on IPR, and development of a new AGOA strategy. The United States and Mauritius also hope to step up work on e-education under the TIFA.