Mauritius and China sign bilateral agreement on training

A bilateral agreement on training was signed this week between Mauritius and China. The signatories of the agreement were the Minister of Civil Service, Mr Alain Wong and the Deputy China International Trade Representative, Mr Zhang Xiangchen.

In his address, Minister Wong recalled that the Chinese authorities have been regularly offering capacity building programmes through some 400 training courses on a yearly basis. As at date, nearly 2,000 public officers have undergone training in China under the Technical and Bilateral Agreements. Mauritius is one of the largest beneficiaries of technical assistance from China, he said, adding that these officers have been trained in areas ranging from health care, agriculture and fisheries, infrastructural planning, to climatic change, renewable energy and public management. According to Alain Wong, it is crucial to ensure that people, which constitute our only resource, are efficient and productive and this goal can only be achieved through continuous capacity building. It’s only then that they can contribute positively towards socio-economic development, he stated. For his part Mr Xiangchen pointed out that human resources and capacity building are of vital importance for the economical development of Mauritius. The agreement, he said, covers broad sectors and includes customs and ocean economy. “I am confident that with the cooperation of both countries, the programme will be implemented successfully,” he added.