Agreement Mauritius-Malaysia: Cooperation in Key Sectors on Track

The meeting also saw the presence of Finance Minister Xavier-Luc Duval, of the Minister of Industry and Trade Cader Sayed Hossen, as well as representatives of the private sector in Mauritius and Malaysia.

In his speech, Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed was keen to emphasize the commonalities that exist between Mauritius and Malaysia. Besides being both the middle-income countries, with a GDP per capita revolving around 10,000 dollars, the two countries are very active in regional organizations. Thus, Malaysia is part of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (comprising ten countries in the region including Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) while Mauritius plays a key role in the SADC and COMESA .

The Malaysian Minister of Commerce concludes that both countries have an interest in working together to mutually open access to two of the most important emerging markets, namely sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia.

The highlight of the meeting was the interactive session that followed the presentations of the Minister of Malaysia and his Mauritian counterpart. This has allowed ministers and businessmen of the two countries to explore the different axes on which Mauritius and Malaysia could collaborate. Proposals involving multiple sectors of the economy, including construction, boat repair, telecommunications as well as halal food, a niche in which Malaysia wants to establish itself as the world leader.

Islamic Finance

Dev Chamroo, Chief Executive Officer of Enterprise Mauritius, has raised the possibility of working on a bilateral cooperation treaty between Mauritius and Malaysia, which will give a formal future collaborations between the two countries under. The Malaysian minister said the possibility was discussed during his visit, and the embassies of the two countries are already working on an agreement of this type.

The Director of the Joint Economic Council, Raj Makoond believes on him that Malaysia would help to emerge a class of ‘techno-entrepreneurs’ at Mauritius. According to him, this could be done with input from MIGGHT (Malaysian Industry Government Group for High Technology), the body responsible for enhancing collaboration between the public and private sectors in the field of technology.

The theme of Islamic finance was also addressed during the discussions. The subject is of particular importance for both countries, as Malaysia is the largest provider of Islamic financial services in the world, and Mauritius welcome from May 21 the top of the Islamic FinancialServices Board . Rajoo Jadoo, General Secretary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, concedes that this is an area in which Mauritius is still looking, and the contribution of Malaysia as a global leader we could be particularly beneficial.

For representatives of the Malaysian financial sector, Mauritius could serve as a springboard for Islamic finance in Africa. " The projects in Africa require investment capital flows consistent, and this is where Islamic finance operates. The project in Malaysia is to bring Islamic finance to thedoors of the African continent, through a healthy court and managed. Mauritius could play this role , "said Adi Asri Baharom of Bank Muamalat Malaysia , which was part of the Malaysian business delegation. He said he was very impressed with the business climate in Mauritius and intends to explore the possibilities of Mauritius in terms of Islamic finance. " Mauritius can certainly deepen the range of financial services in Islamic finance through. And I think you have everything it takes to be on the African continent that Singapore is the region ASEAN , "said Malaysian businessman.