Tue, 30/05/2017-17:56 NEWS STORIES Fifth EU-Mauritius Political Dialogue: Broad and solid partnership The 2017 Political Dialogue between the Republic of Mauritius and the European Union as provided for under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement was held today in Réduit. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, and the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius, H.E. Marjaana Sall, accompanied by representatives from five Member States, held discussions on the current and future partnership between the European Union and Mauritius. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo, in his welcoming address highlighted:
The premise of the Dialogue between Mauritius and the European Union is an excellent one: dialogue is an essential component of the development and policy making process. Mauritius shares with the EU the fundamentals of an appreciation for democracy and a high level of respect for the human being. Mauritius is at a crossroad, but so is the European Union, and there is a need to move our relationship beyond a donor-recipient one, and towards a full-fledged partnership. It is important to reiterate that the friendship between Mauritius and the European Union goes beyond money and projects and it is rooted in a mutual pursuit of shared values. We are tied together. In her opening statement, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Mauritius, H.E. Marjaana Sall said: "Our dialogue reflects broad and solid relations between the European Union and Mauritius. For the past decades the EU has accompanied Mauritius in its social and economic reforms. The EU is the first trading partner for Mauritius. This is a good reflection of an added value of the Economic Partnership Agreement the EU has with Mauritius. But now our partnership has also grown in many areas: fisheries and ocean governance, migration, climate change, regional integration, maritime security, and addressing Small Island Developing States vulnerability. Today we discussed how to further strengthen this comprehensive partnership beyond the development aid dynamics by promoting shared values and interests. We identified two areas: gender equality and climate change in which we will enhance our policy dialogue and cooperation''. The EU and Mauritius underlined the continuous importance of developing a comprehensive partnership and reiterated their commitment to regular Political Dialogue under Article 8 of the Cotonou Agreement which they consider a key instrument and a useful means to reinforce their bilateral relations. The Parties exchanged views on domestic developments in Mauritius and the EU, stressing the importance of gender equality and empowerment for socio-economic development. They agreed to establish a policy dialogue in this field. They discussed how to step up efforts to eradicate gender-based violence and violence against children and promote children's rights. Furthermore, the Parties discussed the issue of minority rights, recalling the recent debates in Mauritian society on the rights of LGBTI people. For its part, the EU recalled that the abolition of death penalty is among its core values. Other subjects discussed included promotion of good governance and strengthening democratic processes like the fight against corruption, electoral reforms, financing of political parties and funding of civil society, inter alia. The Parties shared their joint vision for prosperity and stability, framed by the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Mauritius reaffirmed its support to the EU in working towards a secure, prosperous world, and congratulated the EU for
its efforts in tackling security challenges. Mauritius also emphasised the necessity to ensure that development cooperation tackled the root cause of migration. Discussions furthermore revolved around measures to promote innovation, boost private sector activity and inclusiveness. Additionally, the Parties recognised the key role of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in boosting the economy and providing vital employment, and as such agreed on the necessity to support the SME sector. The Parties discussed Mauritius-EU trade relations including perspectives and opportunities of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). The EU reiterated its willingness to support Mauritius in its objective to become a High-Income Country. To this end, the EU welcomed measures to improve the ease of doing business and recalled its support for the business licensing under its 7 million euro EPA implementation programme, and the injection of 3 million euro for the development of an Intellectual Property Rights framework. For its part, Mauritius emphasised its willingness to move towards a full-fledged EPA. The Parties reiterated their commitment to a robust development cooperation, discussing that, despite Mauritius status as middle-income country, Mauritius and the EU have jointly managed to broaden and widen their cooperation instruments. The current bilateral cooperation portfolio of the EU stands at more than EUR 57 million until 2020. The EU is keen to support the development of human capital in the Republic of Mauritius and emphasised the variety of tools at bilateral and regional level to support key areas of sustainable development, ranging from innovation to green growth. At the level of research and innovation, the EU will contribute to creation of more value added in the economy. The EU also encouraged Mauritius to take full opportunity of closer collaboration between La Réunion and Mauritius notably through EU-funded INTERREG V programme and to take advantage of unexploited potential of culture and creative industries. The Parties thus agreed to step up their cooperation through regional instruments and organisations. The Parties discussed the Africa Strategy of Mauritius which could become an important area of engagement and cooperation for the EU through the EU External Investment Plan (EIP). The EU offered to support through its Technical Assistance Facility the development of business plans under the Africa Strategy. The EIP, which will be one of the key instruments offered by the EU at EU-Africa Summit in November this year, will allow for the boosting of investments in Africa and EU Neighbourhood countries, in particular to support social and economic infrastructure and Small Medium Enterprises, by addressing obstacles to private investment. The Parties also exchanged on a renewed partnership between the EU and Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) after the Cotonou Agreement which is due to expire in February 2020. In view of laying the groundwork for the negotiations on a successor framework to the Cotonou Agreement, which would begin in 2018, the Parties discussed
the proposition to host a retreat in Mauritius. The Parties shared their vision for the ocean economy rooted in the protection and sustainability of the marine environment. Mauritius expressed its satisfaction with the recently concluded Fisheries Protocol, which for the first time in the history of these Protocols, includes measures to support the ocean economy whilst enhancing monitoring and surveillance which would contribute to fostering growth in the blue/ocean economy and enhance ocean governance. The EU reiterated its commitment to sound ocean governance and to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing. Both sides highlighted the importance of addressing global issues together. The EU encouraged Mauritius to play a more active role in international human rights fora and support EU-led initiatives, whilst Mauritius restated its commitment to human rights. Mauritius and the EU are determined to implement the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development and the provisions of the Paris Agreement. As a Small Island Developing State (SIDS), Mauritius recalled its immense vulnerability to the impacts of climate change and called upon the EU to extend its support to its climate actions. The Parties agreed on establishing a policy dialogue on climate change. The EU expressed its gratitude for Mauritian cooperation on maritime security, including successful retrial of Somali pirates in 2016. Both parties noted potential economic costs of resurgence in piracy and stressed the importance of bringing together the region to act on maritime security issues, particularly in light of the possible drawdown of EU Navfor and Operation Atalanta and planned Indian Ocean Commission Chairmanship of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia from 2018. They exchanged on the risks related to transnational crime drug trafficking and terrorism, and expressed willingness to work together in this field. Mauritius and the EU concluded the Dialogue by reiterating the strong bilateral ties between the two Parties, and agreed to expedite the various proposals discussed during the Dialogue. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable Seetanah Lutchmeenaraidoo led the Mauritian delegation comprising senior officials from the diplomatic cadre of Mauritius, from the Regional Integration and International Trade divisions and from various Ministries. The Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Marjaana Sall, led the EU party. She was accompanied by the Ambassadors of Germany, France and Spain, the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom and the Chargé d Affaires of Poland. Background:
The partnership between the Republic of Mauritius and the European Union goes far beyond issues pertaining to development, investment or trade, but also includes an increasingly close cooperation in the areas of maritime security, science and innovation, and migration. It is based on the shared principles of democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, as well as fostering international peace and security. Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement sets out the specific modalities for a regular, comprehensive, balanced and deep political dialogue. Contrary to past practices, the political dialogue under Cotonou covers a broad range of topics, essentially all aims and objectives laid down in the Agreement. As such, Article 8 seeks to focus the dialogue on specific political issues of mutual concern, including the regular assessment of progress regarding respect for human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance. The 1 st EU-Mauritius Political Dialogue took place in 2011. Fifth EU-Mauritius Political Dialogue
See also Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade of the Republic of Mauritius www.eeas.europa.eu Source URL: http://eueuropaeeas.fpfis.slb.ec.europa.eu:8084/delegations/mauritius/27133/fifth-eu-mauritius-political-dialogu e-broad-and-solid-partnership_id