Mauritius - a natural gateway between Africa and Asia

At the banquet hosted on Sunday in honour of the Singapore President, PM Navin Ramgoolam said that the vision of Singapore and Mauritius converge on a number of fundamental values. The two nations have similar trajectories but different levels of developmental, social, political and geographical realities.

The banquet was hosted at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre (SVICC), Pailles.

Addressing the guests, Ramgoolam said: “Singapore has been a prime mover of ASEAN, whilst Mauritius as part of Africa is a firm adherent to regional integration, which encompasses SADC, COMESA, the Indian Ocean Commission and the Indian Ocean Rim. We are pleased at the increasing interest of Singapore in Africa.”

As a natural gateway between Africa and Asia, Ramgoolam said, “Singaporean investments are already present in Mauritius and we would certainly welcome greater economic engagement.” Adding: “We would, however, also invite investors from Singapore to use our location and avail of Mauritius membership of SADC, COMESA and IOC to do business in Africa.”

He added, “We are encouraged that your delegation includes some very high profile business persons from a wide range of activities. We hope that they have been able to gauge for themselves investment and strategic partnership opportunities in Mauritius and the potential for leveraging on the locational advantage of our country.”

He said that the two MoUs signed between the Singapore Business Federation and the Board of Investment and the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry would provide added impetus to mutual business relations.