The France-Mauritius Business Forum concluded, yesterday, in Ebène, under the theme 'A Shared Heritage, a Prosperous Future', reaffirming both countries commitment to advancing a shared vision of growth by tapping into the potential of the blue economy and digital sector with the collaboration of public, private and civil society.
The Ministre délégué auprès du ministre de l'Europe et des Affaires étrangères, chargé de la Francophonie et des Partenariats Internationaux de la République Française, Mr Thani Mohamed-Soilihi, and the Junior Minister of Finance, Mr Dhaneshwar Damry, gave their closing remarks at the event which brought together business leaders and officials from both countries including Reunion Island.
Mr Thani Mohamed-Soilihi emphasised the strategic importance of France-Mauritius relations, underpinning collaboration in food security, digital technology and ecology. He reiterated commitment to deepening economic cooperation, owing to the proximity between both nations at the geographic, cultural and linguistic levels.
Highlighting the solid partnership between the two countries, he reaffirmed the support of France to Mauritius in key domains. He spoke about leveraging on new structures, new competencies and new technologies for more investors to seek opportunities in Africa and the Indian Ocean.
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Mr Thani Mohamed-Soilihi expressed optimism that the France-Mauritius-Reunion Island partnership will serve as a regional engine for trade and climate resilience.
In his concluding remarks, Junior Minister Damry invited French investors and their families to join Mauritius, a free, forward-looking island with various entrepreneurship potentials. Mr Damry highlighted the importance to tap into the potential of Mauritius' vast maritime territory of 2.3 million square kilometres Exclusive Economic Zone which represents a key opportunity for our country. He thus mentioned India's 7.5 million square kilometres of maritime zone which contributes around 7 billion dollars to that country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Damry moreover delved into another area of significant potential, the digital sector. To this end, he reiterated Government's vision to transition towards a fully digital economy, with regard to government services and citizen platforms while expressing optimism to double the digital sector's contribution to Mauritius' GDP.
The Junior Minister also dwelt on the opportunity for investors to use Mauritius as a gateway to the African market, thereby acting as a bridge to mitigate the Africa Risk Premium. While trade between European countries stands at 70%, Asian at around 50 to 55%, trade within the African continent remains at 15%, he observed.
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On climate initiatives, the Finance Junior Minister reasserted Government's efforts to ensure coordination among departments to accelerate investment projects. On this score, he recalled that an inter-ministerial committee on climate change is chaired by the Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, while a High-Level Steering Committee is presided by himself to oversee the implementation of the Government Programme 2025-2029.
Discussions at the France-Mauritius Business Forum focused on:
The Blue Economy, Food Sovereignty, and Regional Value Chains;
Sustainable Development: Common Challenges and Shared Solutions for the Region;
Innovation, Tech, and Digital Transformation: Regional Opportunities to Seize; and,
Prospects for Collaboration and Partnership between France, Réunion, and Mauritius.
