UN-Government of Mauritius Strategic Partnership Framework being finalised, says Prime Minister

This statement was made today by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, at the National Assembly in reply to a Parliamentary Question pertaining to reports prepared and submitted by the EDB to Government since 2017.

The Directorate, said the Prime Minister, has, since its inception, been working across the organisation to advise and advocate policies to Government, including: the Mauritius Artificial Intelligence Strategy; and, the Openness Strategy through a report submitted to the National Economic and Social Council.  Several schemes have also been reviewed which comprise the Occupation Permit, the Speed to Market Scheme, the Mauritius Diaspora Scheme, the Urban Regeneration Scheme and the business environment reforms.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister underlined that the Directorate is currently engaged with the World Bank so as to develop a national sectoral planning framework under a Reimbursable Advisory Services Agreement. In this context, he added, consultations are currently being held for the development of a national planning framework for the manufacturing and digital sectors as well as the elaboration of a blueprint for the agro industry, including the cane industry.

The Prime Minister highlighted that the Directorate is very active on numerous fora such as the Steering committee for the implementation of the Tourism Strategy 2018-2021. It is also advising Government on a regular basis on matters of strategic importance such as Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regional value chain, the Africa Strategy, improvement of the ease of doing business as well as participating in negotiations on international relations such as the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement with India and the Free Trade Agreement with China, he added.

Speaking about the other responsibilities of the EDB, Prime Minister Jugnauth stated that it is engaged in coordinating the activities of the Commission for Economic Affairs of the National Economic and Social Council. The Commission, he indicated, has been mandated by Government to provide a permanent forum for multi-stakeholder dialogue, collaboration, coordination and action to generate economic growth that is distributed across the Mauritian society while creating opportunities for all.