Africa-Press – Mauritius. A two-day National Policy Dialogue on the Manufacturing Sector, aiming at assessing the present situation of the manufacturing sector in the light of new challenges, kickstarted this morning at the Maritim Resort and Spa, in Balaclava.
The Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives, Mr Soomilduth Bholah, the Ambassador of the European Union in Mauritius, Mr Vincent Degert, and other eminent personalities, attended the opening ceremony.
The initiative is a joint collaboration of the Ministry of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives (Industrial Development Division), and the United Nations Economic Office for Africa (UNECA).
The Policy Dialogue is also being organised with a view to identify new proposals for the future development of the sector. Around 50 participants from the different public and private sector organisations as well as manufacturing enterprises are participating.
In his address, Minister Bholah stated that the organisation of this policy dialogue at this stage is crucial for the development of the manufacturing sector to reassess the current situation within which it is evolving in a bid to come up with a transformed business ecosystem for a new impetus and greater resilience for the manufacturing enterprises.
It will help us together to probe deeply into our respective roles and functions as business operators and Government agencies, added the Minister. He expressed profound gratitude to UNECA for partnering with his Ministry for the holding of the event.
The Minister observed that the ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic on all aspects of life have provoked for more dialogue, and stressed for the need of common efforts, to reach consensus on policy solutions for the construction of a prosperous future.
This sector is an important pillar of the economy and has successfully graduated from being a low-cost producer of basic products to higher value added and more sophisticated products, he pointed out.
The Policy Dialogue, he underlined, is an opportune time to assess our achievements after the publication of our Strategic Plan, impacts of budget measures and packages of incentives.
The Minister expressed conviction that the Policy Dialogue will unpack many new insights and inspire everyone to move together on a successful pathway.
Mr Bholah also spoke of the importance of Skills development as a critical enabler in the transformation process of the manufacturing sector as well as the contribution of the textile industry in spearheading the outstanding performance of the export-oriented sector for the five past years.
The Minister renewed his resolve to address all local constraints and work for the adoption of new technologies and ensure access to finance to enhance the competitiveness of the industry.
As for the EU Ambassador, he recalled that the event is a follow-up of the launch of the Strategic Plan that benefited from the technical and financial of the UN, in December 2020. He emphasised that the world has gone through major transformations since, and stressed that it is important to take stock of them.
He underlined that the EU has remained the main trading and investment partner for Mauritius and that it is actively engaged in working with the public and private sectors with the firm commitment to continue to share expertise and experience.
According to Mr Degert, the reflection on the vision and sectorial actions will help to assess whether there is a need for other recommendations to sustain growth.
He dwelt on the four issues of importance for the EU, namely Trade agreements, transformation of the industry, the need to equip people with the right skills, and how to consolidate the environment for a business-friendly Mauritius. The EU Ambassador also underpinned the various forms of related support being extended to the country.
These are: elaboration of a Skill Development Strategy for Mauritius Polytechnics to address the challenge of inadequate labour pool, support to the EDB relating to the development of the manufacturing sector, as well as catering for technical assistance in developing a Regulatory impact assessment regarding the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
On that score, he announced that technical experts working to enhance capacity operation in finetuning the regulatory framework, will come to Mauritius this week. Policy Dialogue
During the Policy Dialogue, the stakeholders are being apprised of, inter alia, development in relation to the implementation of recommendations made by the Industrial Policy and Strategic Plan (2020-2025) (IPSP) for Mauritius for enhanced competitiveness and higher economic growth.
It is also serving as a platform for the sharing of information and communication of relevant schemes and measures being provided by Government for the benefit of the manufacturing sector.
A special attention is being given to the textile and apparel sector, which has remained one of the main pillars of our export sector for the past five decades.
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