Africa-Press – Mauritius. Since last year?s very successful inaugural Thanksgiving Gala, there have been a number of positive developments in the U. S. -Mauritius commercial relationship.
In April, with the support of the AMCHAM, I led a delegation of Mauritian businessmen to Johannesburg to meet with U. S. companies resident in South Africa.
The Trade Mission made a very favorable impression on the U. S. executives. The delegation did a great job promoting the trade and investment opportunities available in Mauritius.
Relationships were established between the Mauritius and Johannesburg AMCHAMs and also between Mauritius trade promotion agencies and similar agencies representing 8 states.
I am optimistic that these outward-looking actions will result in a steady increase in concrete business ventures between Mauritian and U. S. companies.
This year has seen a range of new U. S. business activities in Mauritius. These include a new IT venture by Teleforma, which decided after a successful first year to move to the Cyber Tower, where it leased an entire floor.
Another U. S. company has begun distribution of Mauritian rum in the United States under the Starr Africa Rum label. Global Enterprise Technologies won the contract for the new Passport Issuing System for the Immigration Office.
Reinke Company is supplying irrigation systems for the Northern Plains Irrigation Project. Casamar Holdings Inc. , a world leader in the assembly and repair of commercial fishing nets, set up in the Freeport to service fishing vessels operating in the Indian Ocean.
The renewal of the Air Mauritius fleet presents another major opportunity for the U. S. firm Boeing. The Boeing Company?s 777 is the industry favorite, evidenced by it being the preferred choice of the national airlines of the United Kingdom, Singapore, and France.
Closer to Mauritius, carriers based in Pakistan and Kenya also own and operate the Triple 7. Of more immediate significance to the business community here is the Industrial Investment Package Boeing has developed as part of its proposal.
This package would include major new investments in the Mauritius economy targeting the same sectors identified by the Government of Mauritius for future growth: the IT sector and the seafood hub. Projects in other sectors are also likely.
Perhaps of equal importance in the long run, the package would bring two major international trading companies to Mauritius as partners in these investment projects which would add thousands of new jobs to the economy.
The major U. S. -Mauritius commercial news of the past week was the passage by the U. S. Congress of legislation extending Third Country Fabric benefits to Mauritius under the AGOA.
This was personally a very satisfying conclusion to a lengthy joint effort by the Government of Mauritius and the U. S. Embassy. It is a real milestone, a symbol of perseverance and opportunity for Mauritius.
It is also a demonstration of America?s interest in promoting economic development and trade between our countries. There was another outstanding success this year that I would like to talk about.
At the beginning of 2004, the Government of Mauritius made some bold statements about the importance of raising the standard of protection for Intellectual Property Rights in Mauritius.
These comments were prompted by the rampant infringement of the copyright of the Polo Ralph Lauren company. Government pledges were followed by a sweeping Supreme Court decision that led to a settlement between the copyright infringers and Polo Ralph Lauren.
That was not the end of the story. This settlement has been successfully enforced by the Government of Mauritius. There was an amount of political risk involved in confronting this issue as claims surfaced that thousands of jobs would be lost.
Yet, within a couple of months, the Mauritian government will have ended the sale of counterfeit Polo Ralph Lauren apparel. It will have been accomplished without the extreme job losses and severe economic harm that was so loudly trumpeted in February of this year.
To Mauritius, I say, congratulations. Your five pillars are standing strong. Next week will herald another positive step along this same path: the AMCHAM Mauritius Intellectual Property Conference.
This conference will serve to showcase the significant strides that Mauritius has made in developing a strong intellectual property protection structure here. It will also broadcast this progress and commitment to the international community.
The establishment of a strong, effective intellectual property rights system is an important and sometimes critical factor in a foreign investor?s choice of location.
The reality of this is being played out right now. A U. S. company is in the final stages of negotiations, which would result in the initiation of a major IT project in Mauritius in the early part of 2005.
Ultimately this would be the largest employer in the IT sector with over 1500 workers. This would be a tremendous boon to the development of that key sector and an important step exposing the American IT community to Mauritius.
This company is looking at Mauritius as well as other countries as possible sites for its operation. One of the keys to its decision is the ability to protect its patented software processes, a point raised in discussions with the Embassy.
Due to the enactment of strong legislation and the effective enforcement of those laws this year, we were able to assure the company that their business patents would be secure.
I strongly hope and believe that this enterprise will be coming to Mauritius early in the new year. In conclusion, the news this year is very good. U. S.
companies are coming to do business in Mauritius; the Third Country Fabric benefit has been realized; Mauritius continues to make itself an increasingly attractive trade and investment destination; and some significant opportunities with U.S. businesses ? such as Boeing – are on the horizon. These remarks were made on the occasion of the Thanksgiving Dinner Gala of the American Chamber of Commerce on Nov. 27
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