Mahen Seeruttun Attends SADC Summit in Namibia

SADC Summit in Windhoek, Namibia, under the Chairmanship of H.E, Dr Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia, started on 13th August and is ending on the 18th. The theme of this year’s Summit is “Promoting infrastructural development and youth empowerment for sustainable development.”

The Summit reviews the political and economic situation in the region.  It has also taken note of the status of food security, HIV and Aids, the promotion of Gender and the operationalisation of the SADC Regional Development Fund.  The Fund focuses mainly on the implementation of the Industrialisation Strategy.

It was expected that the Summit would endorse the Road Map for the establishment of the University of Transformation.  In this context, Mauritius offered to host one of the Centres of Excellence in sugar technology and research.  The Summit also took note of the status of the signature of the Tripartite and the Continental Free Trade Area.

In the margins of Summit, Mauritius will sign the amended Agreement to the Protocol on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation.

The Mauritius delegation to the Summit has been led by Mahen Seeruttun , Minister of Agro Industry and Food Security.  Minister Seeruttun seized this opportunity to discuss the consolidation of our relations with Namibia.  In this context, he met Hon. Tjekero Tweya, Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, and SME Development and Hon. Alpheus Naruseb, Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Resettlement to review the status signature of Agreements on:
Bilateral Air Services Agreement ;

MoUs in the field of Fisheries and Industrial cooperation.

The Namibian side expressed the wish to mount a trade and investment mission to Mauritius in the second quarter of 2019.  Both sides reviewed the status of outstanding cooperation Agreements and agreed on the revival of the general Framework Agreement between the two countries along with the institution of joint committees to oversee the implementation of the various MoUs.

The following areas of cooperation were identified:

Industrialisation, Trade and Investment (diamond cutting and polishing, trade in services)

Development of SEZs (development of port and logistics, sheltered farming, investment in hotels, setting up of photovoltaic farms)

Tourism (capacity building)

Agriculture (collaboration in sugar cane production)

Fisheries and Ocean Economy (assistance for the development of the Mauritius fisheries hub and ocean economy)

Air connectivity (Conclusion of BASA Agreement and Code share arrangements).

Health (supply of doctors to Namibia, development of pharmaceutical industry with particular focus on Aloe Vera.)

Hon M. Seeruttun also paid a courtesy call on the Rt Hon Saara Kuukongelwa, Prime Minister of the Republic of Namibia.  The latter congratulated Mauritius on the various economic and social reforms undertaken by the Government and reiterated the wish of the Government of the Republic of Namibia to revive the General Framework Agreement.

Minister Seeruttun thanked the Government of Namibia for its donation of five Oryxes on the occasion of the celebrations marking the 50th Anniversary of the Independence of Mauritius.  He also thanked the Republic of Namibia for its unflinching support in favour of the resolution of the UN requesting an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965.