Q. Mr Prime Minister, Mauritius is a cosmopolitan country with an extra ordinary Economic development, could we say that Mauritius is a model of development for the twenty first centuries?
A. We all came from different continents namely Africa, Europe and Asia; we have
managed in spite of our diversity to live side by side. I am proud to say that we, now,
think of Mauritius as a nation and not as to who were our ancestors as it used to be in
the past. We think more and more in terms of one nation and we are an example to the
world. Our diversity can in fact be a model of development for the twenty first century on
both the economic and social point of view as to what can be achieved as a nation.
Q. There is no doubt that Mauritius is a bridge between Asia and Africa, but is your
country already a financial centre in the region?
A. We are an emerging market in the financial sector right now, our offshore sector is
doing very well and we see to it that this sector adheres itself to strict international
norms. We have existing legislation to protect this particular sector of the economy, and
this will be reinforced soon with the ‘money laundering bill’. We are and we
wish to stay a clean offshore centre.
Q. Mauritius is a member of COMESA, SADEC and COI, what are your priorities and plans
to develop the growing economic relations of your country?
A. Economic diplomacy is very important for a small country especially and also
regional co-operation is and remains very important to our economic development. Our
membership in these organisations is a good opportunity placing us at the gateway of
Africa and we have taken a leading position in SADEC and we are at present in charge of
the tourism sector. We believe that SADEC is one of the groups performing very well right
now and it has also included various countries that have in fact good potential that have
been neglected in the process of development in the past. I am very happy that President
Clinton visited Africa, thus giving the right message that is including African countries
in world- wide development. It is in the interest of everyone that the African continent
develops and will adhere to international norms so as to create other markets for everyone
else. I strongly wish that the Africa Bill will be voted soon and I even pleaded in favour
of that during my last visit in the States at the Capitol Hill. I am also aware that some
people in America sees this bill as a threat to employment in certain region of the States
but the benefits of that bill will be tremendous. Mauritius is prepared as a small country
to make sacrifices and bring down barriers.
Q. You have been to India a few weeks ago, what have been the results of this visit?
A. We have special relationship with India, we have strong bonds and this visit has
strengthened the bond even further. On the economic side we have treaties with India on
the double taxation agreement for our offshore, there is also a huge investments between
India and Mauritius. India has agreed to assist us in many ways, they have helped us
patrol our coastal areas and they have also donated a helicopter. We are looking at
further co-operation in the education field and also on the financial side. I met with
people of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry so as to increase the volume of
investment from India to Mauritius and vice-versa. While I was in India, I talked with the
chief minister of Andra Pradesh, Mr Chandra Babu Naidu, who is coming up with new ideas
and we are looking into different ways of co-operating on information technology,
especially software where we have the potential of creating something. We passed a
Copyright Bill, which was one of the toughest, this was even sent to the United States to
be improved. In spite of a lot people telling us that we are an emerging country and that
it will no be in our interest. We want to show our determination that we want to play the
game by rule. Immediately after the application of this bill Microsoft opened its regional
headquarters here.
| Q. Would you mention some investments opportunities and what types of companies would
you recommend to invest in Mauritius?
A. We are experiencing growth in lots of areas but tourism has big potential for
growth. There are two groups from America who have shown their interests in the hotel
industry in Mauritius and they will be coming soon to see what are the prospects. The
Hyatt group seems to be an interested party. Tourism has grown from 8% to 10%. We have a
policy of looking for ‘high class tourist’ and we have specific building
criteria for our hotels so as to preserve our environment. The other promising sector is
the textile industry in the Export Processing Zone – if the Africa Growth and
Opportunity Bill is passed, more investment will be attracted to that sector. The
financial services sector also remains a good opportunity for investment. We consider
ourselves already to be the financial centre of the region; we want to widen our domestic
financial system and the scope for investments in these areas are tremendous. We are about
to privatise Mauritius Telecom and we are having a lot of joint ventures with other
countries in the telecom industry. We have just passed the Information and Technology Act
and we are one of the few countries to have a minister for Information and Technology.
Telecommunications, is an area that represents a lot of potential. Countries like
Madagascar, Seychelles and Mozambique also represent immense investment opportunities.
Q. People describe you as a modern, young Minister with a vision, could you elaborate
on that?
A. My objective is to create a modern Mauritius for the next millennium; this is why I
put a lot of trust in the national unity. We also have to look at the long-term vision,
where we will not obtain immediate results. We are making major changes in a lot of our
institutions, reforms of the civil sector, the health sector and the education sector as
well. I met with Professor Sachs in February in Dallas to take part in a forum and to my
great surprise they had carried a study on the African countries and Mauritius came out
first for the Competitiveness Index. Our resources are our people and the emphasis to
succeed in the third millennium would be on brain intensive industry. Education and health
care therefore remain major issues where we want to improve the actual system and invest
so as to raise the standard and facilitate the daily life of our people.
Q. As a more personal issue what has been the most uncomfortable and the most pleasant
thing you have discovered since becoming the Prime Minister of Mauritius?
A. With no hesitation I would say that I find it hard how much time delay it takes to
implement new projects, this is due to the fact that we have too much bureaucracy in our
system. The most pleasant thing is that I have been given the opportunity to affect the
daily lives of people and that can make a big difference as I believe I can contribute
positively.
I am actually doing the most major reform of the judiciary that has ever happen in
Mauritius since our independence so as to make justice more accessible to everyone and to
avoid delays.
Q. As a final issue, what would your final message be to our readers?
A. Mauritius is not just a tourist attraction; it’s an economy that has shown resilience despite all the financial turmoil that has been happening all around the world .We represent a lot of investment opportunities with political stability and we believe we have a lot to offer. |
