Future relations between Pakistan and Mauritius should be based on market access and trade, especially in context of Mauritius acting as a gateway to African markets for Pakistani products said High Commissioner of Mauritius Muhammad Rashad Daureeawo during a meeting with Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (ICCI) President Zafar Bakhtawari at Chamber House.
Daureeawo said that Mauritius has a population of only 1.5 million but attracts around 1million tourists annually due to a peaceful and good environment. The High Commissioner also called for exchange of business delegations to increase bilateral trade and dissemination of trade-related information.
High Commissioner said that legal framework for resolution of trade-related disputes has been very strong in Mauritius that provides a visible advantage to foreign businessmen. He said Mauritius topped World Bank’s ease of doing business ranking because the tax regime has been very soft and encouraging.
He said Mauritius is ranked high in terms of competitiveness, investment climate, governance and a free economy, adding that the government of Mauritius provides free education to its citizens from pre-primary to tertiary levels which makes Mauritius a regional knowledge hub and a centre for higher learning and excellence.
In his welcome address, Bakhtawari lauded the dynamic role of Mauritian High Commissioner in strengthening Pakistan-Mauritius bilateral relations and said that geographically Mauritius is far from Pakistan but culturally and socially both countries have very strong ties as majority of its citizens migrated from the subcontinent.
He said both countries were enjoying good relations but there was still more that needed to be done and observed that trade should not be restricted to a few subjects as current volume of trade was much below its potential.
Bakhtawari was of the view that Mauritius was turning into a financial and trade hub for emerging Africa, therefore, we could use it to make inroads in African market as Africa is very rich in raw materials and many countries are already trying to benefit from it.
The ICCI President said that there was a huge scope for expansion in trade and the private sector has the responsibility to be a front-runner in creating new avenues of establishing trade and investment relations between Pakistan and Mauritius, adding that Pakistani goods had the potential to win a respectable place in Mauritius’ market.
