India-Maurice Textile: Five Agreements Signed

The signing of these five agreements follows the work of the Joint Working Committee on textiles and clothing chaired by the Chief of Staff of the Mauritian Ministry of Industry and Joint Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Textiles. The committee, which met twice, was established following an agreement between the governments of India and Mauritius in February 2012.

The first meeting was held in July 2012 and the second on January 28. The committee has developed cooperative agreements to deepen relations between the two countries in this sector. The five agreements were signed between: 1) Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Enterprise Mauritius (EM), 2) Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Mauritius Standard Bureau (MSB), 3) NITRA and National Productivity and Competitiveness Council (NPCC) 4) Clothing Manufacturers Association of Indian (CMAI) and Mauritius Export Association (MEXA) 5) Institute and Apparel Management (IAM) and Fashion Institute of Design and Mauritius (FDI).

Work on standards and standardization, increasing competitiveness in the apparel industry, capacity building at all levels, accreditation of laboratories, test skills and exchange of information are all goals that the institutions concerned must reach in the first three chords. Between the CMAI and MEXA aims to establish a link to promote fashion design and provide the necessary education and training in India and Mauritius. Between the IAM and the DFI shall include the establishment of a training program in the field of design, fashion and textile technology.

To the High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, the signing of the cooperation agreements bring more substance to the bilateral relationship between India and Mauritius. This indicates that the two countries "mean business." T.P. Seetharam believes it is more important to have cooperation agreements of this kind which he believes will help the recovery of the textile and clothing industry.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Consumer Protection has abounded in the same direction. Cader Sayed-Hossen, will visit India next month to discuss opportunities to attract Indian investors in the textile and clothing in Mauritius.

" Bilateral meeting with the commerce, industry and textile ministre have also been proposed to take the collaboration forward in the coming months," highlights the Indian High Commission in Mauritius. This authority also notes that the Great Peninsula has pledged to train 1,000 textile workers, to offer 35 scholarships and open ten manufacturing plants according to established standards. These decisions included in the letter of intent signed between Mauritius and India during the visit of Indian Minister of Commerce, Industry and Textiles in Mauritius from January 8 to 10.