Africa-Press – Mauritius. Setting up the Friends of Egypt Group as well as showcasing Egyptian Products in Mauritius”, was the theme of a seminar organised by the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, this evening, in Ebène.
The Vice-President of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr Marie Cyril Eddy Boissezon; the Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Mr Alan Ganoo; the Private Parliamentary Secretary, Dr Ismael Rawoo; the Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Dr Alya’a Samir Borhan; the Director of Global Outreach-Economic Development Board of Mauritius, Mr Vinay Guddye; and other personalities were present on the occasion.
In his address, the Vice-President highlighted that the Arab Republic of Egypt was among the first partners of Mauritius with whom a Memorandum of Understanding on scientific technical cultural cooperation was signed in 1972.
“The various agreements signed between our two countries span through several sectors including education, training, culture, science, fisheries and trade”, he added.
He also welcomed the setting up of the Friends of Egypt Group and stressed that the Government will do its best to facilitate the enhancement of this relationship.
“Our exchanges go beyond the signature of agreements but pertain more to the valorisation of people-to-people exchanges, in particular through the sharing of culture and arts,” the Vice-President pointed out.
Mr Boissezon stressed that ways and means to reduce the gap between imports and exports between Egypt and Mauritius must be elaborated. In addition, he reiterated the commitment of the Government of Mauritius to further strengthen and deepen the relations and cooperation for new progress notably in the sector of blue economy.
For his part, Mr Ganoo joined the Vice-President to welcome the initiative for the setting up the Friends of Egypt Group, which, he emphasised will contribute towards the promotion of cooperation and deepen understanding between the two nations.
The Foreign Minister recalled that these past decades, both countries have been continuously working together towards expanding mutually beneficial cooperation, as well as pushing bilateral friendly relations to new heights.
A wide range of government, business, and people to people exchanges continue to draw our two countries closer and, as members of Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Free Trade Area (COMESA FTA), trade between our two countries has been increasing, he said.
As regards the challenges that the world is facing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine, the Minister underlined that one of the direct consequences of the conflict is its impact on the global food supply chains and, in this context, pointed out that the Egyptian authorities have issued a decree to stop the export of all kinds of oils, grits and corn for a period of three months on 12 March 2022.
He thereby appealed to the authorities to review this decision as Egypt is a major supplier of cooking oil to Mauritius. “Given our excellent bilateral relations, we would like to engage with Egypt for a bilateral agreement which could take the form of a quota in light of our dependence on Egyptian oil and our small market size which is unlikely to affect the supply of oil in Egypt”, Mr Ganoo stated.
The Ambassador of Egypt, for her part, made a presentation on the aims of the seminar which were namely: to set up the Egyptian-Mauritian Friendship Group which could be the nucleus for the Egyptian-Mauritian Business Council; and to showcase various Egyptian products.
As for Mr Guddye, he spoke of the privileged and profound diplomatic and economic relation that Mauritius and Egypt share. He also remarked on the development of a triangular Egypt-Mauritius-Africa value chain notably through the access to markets for products such as cotton, fabrics, food processing, freeport and logistics, among others.
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