Maritime agreement with Seychelles
Mauritius and the Seychelles signed an agreement on March 27 relating to the joint surveillance of the Mascarene plateau, maritime space of 400,000 square kilometers shared between the two countries. It constitutes a “joint management zone”, according to a 2012 treaty on the seabed and subsoil, but not on water and the organisms that live there. Surveillance of the Mascarene plateau was until now carried out within the framework of regional or international projects whose effectiveness is considered insufficient by both countries..
The area is very frequented by illegal fishermen, who are looking for sea cucumbers in particular (holothuries), in high demand in Asian markets. Last February, following a joint call for tenders, three Seychellois and one Mauritian shipping companies have obtained sea cucumber fishing authorizations in this area.
Partnership with Madagascar in textiles
The Group of Free Companies and Partners of Madagascar (GEFP) and the Mauritius Export Association (Maexa) signed a protocol at the beginning of April aimed at strengthening partnerships between players in the clothing sector of the two countries, which represents a total turnover of 1,5 billion dollars in exports. The agreement plans to seek synergies in all areas (commerce, marketing, investments, formation, communication, research and development).
Omnicane comes out of the red
Strongly affected by the health crisis, the Omnicane group returned to profit in 2022, at the end of a debt reduction plan. In one year, its turnover increased from 5,6 to 8,7 billion rupees (from approximately 114 to 177 million euros). The group made a profit of 568 million rupees (around 11 million euros) against a loss of 660 million (environ 13,4 million euros) in 2021. Its energy and agro-industrial sectors have also returned to the green, despite a drop in the tonnage of sugar cane harvested in 2022. The sale of land finally enabled Omnicane's real estate sector to achieve an operating profit of 180 million rupees (environ 3,6 million euros) after losing 252 million in 2021.
A loan of 250 million dollars from the ADB
The African Development Bank (BAD) granted a $250 million loan to Mauritius on March 29, in order to support the post-Covid economic recovery in the country, as part of a two-part program. The first targets more particularly the agro-industry and fishing sectors., with the aim of accelerating the transition to clean energy and strengthening environmental governance. The second component of the program consists of supporting renewable energy production projects – solar and wind – by companies..
