Mauritius offers dedicated SEZ for Indian companie

Apr 25, 2023

Mauritius has invited Indian companies to develop a dedicated special economic zone for themselves, said Mr. Arvind Radhakrishna, Strategic Advisor to Economic Development Board of Mauritius who led a delegation of 21 companies to explore new areas of economic collaboration, technology exchange and joint ventures.

“Mauritius is developing a dedicated special economic zone (SEZ) for Indian companies. I invite Indian investors and real estate developers to develop the zone and strengthen our economic ties,” Mr. Radhakrishna said addressing an interactive session organized jointly by WTC Mumbai and All India Association of Industries (AIAI).

 “Mauritius has signed investment protection agreement with 44 countries and double taxation avoidance agreement with 21 African countries. It has preferential market access to 70% of world consumer market as it has signed trade agreements with Africa, USA, European Union, China, UK, Turkey and other countries,” Mr Radhakrishna pointed out.

Sharing a trade overview between the two countries, Mr. Seewraj Nundlall, Counsellor (Investment & Trade), Consulate General of the Republic of Mauritius, said “India is the second largest source of imports, accounting for 10% of total imports of Mauritius. Mauritius’s total exports to India grew from USD 16 million in 2010 to USD 56 million by 2022. Around 90% of the over USD 70 billion Indian investment in Africa is routed through Mauritius.”

Highlighting the past initiatives of WTC Mumbai to promote bilateral relations, Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai remarked, “In the past, WTC Mumbai and AIAI have taken two business delegations to Mauritius and organized ‘Made in India’ exhibitions in that country to promote bilateral trade. Earlier, AIAI was instrumental in negotiating with the former Prime Minister of Mauritius Mr. P Navin Ramgoolam for allocating land for Maharashtra Sadan in that country. We have hosted several high level in-bound business delegations from Mauritius, including the former Prime Ministers and Agriculture Ministers of Mauritius.”

Dr. Kalantri pointed out that the current level of bilateral trade, which is around USD 500 million, is below the true potential. Indian companies can set up manufacturing units in Mauritius and export to Africa and other countries. Both the countries can also explore business in emerging areas such as renewable energy, biotechnology, hi-tech manufacturing and blue economy. 

The session was followed by around 100 B2B meetings, which will lead to joint venture, technology collaboration, trade and investment between the business delegation from Mauritius and their Indian counterparts. The delegation members represented diverse sectors such as digital printing, agro and food processing, real estate, consultancy, textile, gems & jewellery, logistics, CNC machining and so on.

In Photo (From left to right): Ms. Rupa Naik, Executive Director, WTC Mumbai; Dr. Vijay Kalantri, Chairman, WTC Mumbai; Mr. Arvind Radhakrishna, Strategic Advisor to Economic Development Board of Mauritius and Mr. Seewraj Nundlall, Counsellor (Investment & Trade), Consulate General of the Republic of Mauritius.