{"id":62194,"date":"2016-01-19T12:28:15","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T10:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/4th-eu-mauritius-political-dialogue-discussions-focus-on-the-future-partnership\/"},"modified":"2016-01-19T12:28:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T10:28:15","slug":"4th-eu-mauritius-political-dialogue-discussions-focus-on-the-future-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/4th-eu-mauritius-political-dialogue-discussions-focus-on-the-future-partnership\/","title":{"rendered":"4th EU-Mauritius Political Dialogue : Discussions focus on the future partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"

BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 19, 2016\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ — <\/span><\/p>\n

The 2016 Political Dialogue session between the Republic of Mauritius and the\u00a0European Union as provided for under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership\u00a0Agreement was held today in Balaclava.<\/p>\n

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable\u00a0Etienne Sinatambou, and the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of\u00a0Mauritius, H.E. Marjaana Sall, accompanied by representatives from eight Member States,\u00a0held discussions on the current and future partnership between the EU and Mauritius.<\/p>\n

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable\u00a0Etienne Sinatambou, in his welcoming address highlighted:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strong bilateral relations between Mauritius and the European Union are founded on the\u00a0core\u00a0principles\u00a0of\u00a0democracy,\u00a0rule\u00a0of\u00a0law,\u00a0upholding\u00a0Human\u00a0Rights\u00a0and\u00a0mutual\u00a0understanding, respect and trust. We have experienced, over the last forty years, an\u00a0exemplary North-South partnership between the European Union and the African, Caribbean\u00a0and Pacific Group of countries through the Lom\u00e9 Conventions and the present Cotonou\u00a0Agreement. This Partnership has provided a solid foundation for the economic development\u00a0of Mauritius\u201d<\/p>\n

In her opening statement, the Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of\u00a0Mauritius, H.E. Marjaana Sall said:<\/p>\n

– “Today we held discussions on our partnership and on the way we can work together to\u00a0address global challenges such as Climate Change, Sustainable Development Goals, Regional\u00a0Economic Integration, and Peace and Security. The EU stands ready to assist the\u00a0Government in achieving its vision to evolve to a high income country. Our bilateral support\u00a0under the 11th European Development Fund will focus on tertiary education and research and\u00a0innovation in line with the Government priorities to improve the human capital base in the\u00a0country, and contribute to unlock growth. There are also other funding opportunities under\u00a0the regional programme for Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean in support\u00a0of Regional Economic Integration and Sustainable Management of natural resources which\u00a0are priorities for Mauritius.”<\/p>\n

The EU and Mauritius underlined the quality of their longstanding partnership, and\u00a0reaffirmed the strong economic and cultural ties between them.<\/p>\n

The Parties exchanged views on issues of common interest such as the Economic Partnership\u00a0Agreement (EPA), Peace and Security including the fight against Terrorism, combating\u00a0Corruption and promoting Good Governance, addressing the effects of Climate Change, the\u00a0Sustainable Development Goals and Regional Economic Integration amongst others.\u00a0agreed to explore ways to work together in addressing these global issues.<\/p>\n

The Parties reviewed the political and economic situation in Mauritius and in Europe.<\/p>\n

The EU confirmed its commitment to continue to support the Government in achieving its\u00a0ambition to evolve from the current upper middle income country status to a high income\u00a0country. The EU bilateral support under the 11th European Development Fund will focus on\u00a0tertiary education and research and innovation in line with the Government priorities to\u00a0contribute to transforming Mauritius into a knowledge-based and innovative society.<\/p>\n

They highlighted the importance of regional integration and trade for Mauritius economic\u00a0development. They acknowledged that the European Union remained an important external\u00a0partner for Mauritius. The European Union commended Mauritius for the interim Economic\u00a0Partnership Agreement (EPA) signed with the European Union in 2009 and confirmed its\u00a0willingness to continue providing assistance to Mauritius for the implementation of the\u00a0agreement. They agreed to consider the possibility of the deepening and widening of the\u00a0interim EPA, leaving the possibility for other ESA countries to join when they are\u00a0ready. Mauritius reiterated its commitment to conclude a full and comprehensive EPA with\u00a0the EU.<\/p>\n

Both sides also discussed the impact of the EU Free Trade Agreements on the ACP-EU\u00a0Partnership.<\/p>\n

They underlined the historic climate agreement brokered in December 2015 and\u00a0exchanged views on the implementation of commitments taken in Paris. The EU also took\u00a0note of the participation of Mauritius in the Switch Africa Green programme and stated that it\u00a0will continue to support climate action in Mauritius and build resilience in Small Island\u00a0Developing States.<\/p>\n

The parties also discussed international security threats and its impact on the region. The\u00a0European Union announced that Peace, Security and Regional Stability were among the\u00a0priorities addressed under regional cooperation.<\/p>\n

The two sides reviewed issues relating to Good Governance and the fight against Corruption.<\/p>\n

The EU expressed appreciation on the determination of Mauritius to combat Corruption and\u00a0encouraged it to continue consolidating Good Governance.<\/p>\n

The Parties re-affirmed their commitment to the implementation of the Fisheries partnership\u00a0agreement and to the curbing of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing with a view to\u00a0ensuring sustainable exploitation of Fisheries resources. They also focused on the need for\u00a0capacity building in this area.<\/p>\n

They discussed the future of EU-Mauritius partnership in the context of the Post Cotonou\u00a0Agreement that will come into force after 2020. The Parties expressed their confidence on\u00a0the future of their consistent Partnership within a new Framework to be negotiated. Mauritius\u00a0highlighted the importance of Food Security and safety and the evolution of the Mauritius\u00a0Sugar Industry within this Framework. Both sides agreed to work towards a higher value\u00a0added Partnership focusing on areas of mutual interest.<\/p>\n

Both Parties reiterated their commitment to regular Political Dialogue under Article 8 of the\u00a0Cotonou Agreement.<\/p>\n

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable\u00a0Etienne Sinatambou led the Mauritian delegation comprising five other Ministers, namely the\u00a0Honourable Ravi Yerrigadoo, Attorney General, the Honourable Mahen Kumar Seeruttun,\u00a0Minister of Agro Industry and Food Security, the Honourable Sudarshan Bhadain, Minister of\u00a0Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms, the Honorable Premdut\u00a0Koonjoo, Minister of Ocean Economy,.Marine Resources, Fisheries, shipping and Outer\u00a0Islands and the Honourable Raj Dayal, Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development,\u00a0and Disaster and Beach Management,<\/p>\n

They welcomed the significant progress of their partnership and reaffirmed their commitment\u00a0to the principles of Good Governance, Democracy and respect for Human Rights which are\u00a0the essential and fundamental elements of their relationship.<\/p>\n

The Ambassador of the European Union, H.E. Marjaana Sall, led the EU party. She was\u00a0accompanied by the representatives from eight Member States, namely: Ireland, Spain,\u00a0France, United Kingdom, Croatia, Austria, Portugal and Finland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BRUSSELS, Belgium, January 19, 2016\/APO (African Press Organization)\/ — The 2016 Political Dialogue session between the Republic of Mauritius and the\u00a0European Union as provided for under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership\u00a0Agreement was held today in Balaclava. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the Honourable\u00a0Etienne Sinatambou, and the Ambassador of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4584],"tags":[428,4585,830],"class_list":{"0":"post-62194","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-africa-news-2","7":"tag-africa","8":"tag-apo","9":"tag-news","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}