Tapping into the full potential of Mozambique

Mauritius and Mozambique enjoy an excellent set of quality of longstanding relations that transcend contemporary times and these ties are premised on a number of key factors. A rich testimony of history when thousands of Mozambicans started their journey to develop Mauritius as from 1734 as slaves, two independent African states with diverse colonial legacy open to the world and striving for the enhancement of sustainable development of their people through economic objectives and a future that compels both countries to work closely together.

The dynamics and fundamentals of such relations are setting the leeway for both countries to have interactions in novel spheres to propel growth and development, be it in the financial and services sector, infrastructure and soft infrastructure, in the extractive industry and green technology, etc. Mozambique in the future will rely on Mauritius for capacity building and technology transfer.

Beyond the excellent bilateral relations, Mauritius and Mozambique have common appurtenance and share same common positions in a number of regional and multilateral like the UN, the AU, the ACP Group, the SADC, IOR-ARC, the Commonwealth, the Francophonie and the WTO. 

Mozambique remains a key ally for Mauritius in the context of regional integration, for example in the context of the APEI, a door to neighbouring markets in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Angola where demand for Mauritian exports for products and services to those countries exist.

Mauritius over time has built a strong business reputation and remains the second foremost contributor to the FDI for Mozambique, and many companies operate in Mozambique with offices quartered in Mauritius. This is because of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, the competitiveness of the global business sector of Mauritius and its legal and tax system.

The discovery of large natural gas reserves in 2012, one of the greatest reserves on the planet, with estimated capacity of over 200 trillion cubic feet, has propelled a vast interest for the extractive industry in Mozambique. The North has enormous quantities of coal and petroleum deposits. The big players in those areas like the ex-Rio Tinto, Vale, ENL and many supporting enterprises operate with registered office in Mauritius through the global business sector.

There are other multinational companies that have shown interests in investing in Mozambique through the legal and tax system in Mauritius.

Both governments have signed a number of key agreements and MoUs, in view of strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two nations. They are the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTA), the Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA), the Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) and the General Framework Agreement (GFA). The GFA is an umbrella agreement which provides for cooperation in vast numbers of areas of common interests for both countries, namely education, agriculture, fishing, environment, health, ICT and training.

Since Mauritius and Mozambique benefit from the AGOA export facilities to the USA and under the ACP/EU trade regimes, Mauritius imports yarns and cotton from Mozambique for rules of origins compliance and this will continue in the future.

With the BASA signed in March 2014, Air Mauritius is scheduled to fly to Maputo in May 2016. The growth of the Mozambican economy means that there is an increasing reservoir of middle-class citizens who can now afford to travel to Mauritius for business, tourism, shopping, education, health and transit to Asia and Europe.

Mauritius passport holders do not need visa to enter Mozambique. Upon arrival, they are granted a 30 days visa free and Mozambicans travelling to Mauritius are granted same treatment on arrival.

Significant opportunities exist for Mauritian entrepreneurs to explore the Mozambican market of over 25 million consumers. As High Commissioner, I have during various meetings in Mauritius invited interested entrepreneurs to set up SMEs in Maputo. Opportunities exist for doctors and accountants in the private sector. Mauritian enterprises are actually looking to do business in Mozambique and one of the latest example is Les Forges Tardieu.

Mozambique has two major ports: Maputo and Nacala. Presently, Mauritian authorities are looking for cooperation for the development of the special economic zones set up by the government of Mozambique.

The dynamism of the relation between Mauritius and Mozambique relations is also seen in the capacity building and training area where, in addition to tailor-made requests, government makes available scholarships to many African countries, including Mozambique.

Mozambique, starting from being a land of origin for human settlement in Mauritius, poses itself in the future as a partner in growth and development for Mauritius. The proposal of setting up a Mauritius - Mozambique Chamber of Commerce in order to facilitate and increase trade between our two nations is one example.

The fundamentals and the dynamics of this excellent relations make me as the High Commissioner project that in the years to come the political ties and the economic activities between both countries will intensify. This is fully in line with the aspirations that we have set ourselves to in the Vision 2030.