Republic of Mauritius- Visit of World Bank Group Executive Directors Discussion focused on Mauritius’ transformation to a high-income economy

During their visit, the Executive Directors met the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth whereby they were briefed on recent developments and prospects in key economic sectors such as ICT, Ocean Economy and Finance as well as the Africa Strategy.

Furthermore, they visited the port and the Ebène cybercity, and discussed the progress of World Bank advisory work in key areas such as educational reform and financial sector supervision. The Executive Directors placed particular emphasis on skills and education during consultations with stakeholders evolving in the field.

The Executive Director for Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, and Turkey and spokesperson of the delegation, Mr Guenther Schoenleitner, stated, “Mauritius is seen by many in Africa as an example to aspire to”. “So we came here with a dual objective: To see how the World Bank can support Mauritius in its ambition to become a knowledge driven high-income country, but also to learn from the progress that has been made in areas such as poverty reduction, education, business environment reform, and economic diversification”, he added.

The World Bank Group is providing advisory services and technical assistance in a number of areas in Mauritius, including education reform, financial sector supervision, employment, and productivity growth. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has invested in the financial, tourism and textile sectors in Mauritius. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is currently underwriting a financial sector transaction in Mauritius, and has a robust pipeline of outbound activity into Sub-Saharan Africa from Mauritian companies.

World Bank Group Board of Directors

The World Bank Group Board members are collectively called the Executive Directors. The Board of Directors includes the President of the World Bank Group and 25 Executive Directors. Member countries of the World Bank Group appoint or elect Executive Directors to the Boards of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Agency (IDA), IFC and the MIGA. While the World Bank Group maintains four Boards for these separate arms, Executive Directors typically serve on all Boards simultaneously.