Mauritius: Mauritius wants to export its industrial know-how to Africa

27 Septembre 2017

PORT-LOUIS,  Mauritius, September 27 (Infosplusgabon) -  Mauritian Foreign Affairs Minister Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo said on Wednesday that Mauritius would work closely with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) to be able to participate actively in the process of industrialization in the region and in continental Africa.

He was speaking during a working session on industrial development in Mauritius and the opportunities for transferring Mauritian know-how in the area of the manufacturing free zone to the African continent.

The minister recalled the contribution of UNIDO to the establishment and the impulse of the free zone in Mauritius in the 1970s and 1980s.

"After several decades of evolution , the manufacturing sector faces new challenges today. Hence the need for a renewed collaboration with the UN agency dedicated to industrialization," he said.

Mr. Lutchmeenaraidoo outlined the Mauritius Africa Strategy and requested technical assistance from UNIDO to facilitate the transfer of Mauritius experience to the region and the continent.

"We are exploring avenues of cooperation with UNIDO and we believe that our policy of opening up to Africa is very relevant to our industrial strategy. We want to see to what extent the UN organization can help us share our knowledge of industrialization with the African countries we work with, " he said.

He reiterated the model of cooperation under the aegis of government-to-government agreements and the spirit of South-South and intra-African cooperation, which favours mutual respect for the interests and specificities of the countries in question.

The minister explained the prospects for regional integration within the framework of the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) with opportunities for the implantation of Mauritian industrialists in Ghana in West Africa, for example, and the routing of products manufactured to the US market.

He also welcomed the new move to engage the private sector in economic development policies in Africa with the establishment of bodies such as the African Economic Platform, an initiative of the African Union -- an approach that he believes would greatly encourage exchanges between industrial operators and investors in the continent.

For his part, the UNIDO representative for Mauritius and Tanzania, Mr. Stephen Bainous Kargbo, was very enthusiastic about the sharing of industrial know-how in this perspective in order to support the process of industrialization in African countries.

He highlighted UNIDO's vital mission to support the economic take-off of the African continent, and welcomed the opportunities for exchanges between African States to promote the emergence and emancipation of new industries in Africa.

FIN/INFOSPLUSGABON/OII/GABON 2017

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