HE Abhimanu Mahendra Kundasamy
Baroness Prashar and Mr Vijay Sharma,
Sir Ronald Halstead,
Hon Jackie Lait,
Hon MPs,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me first thank Sir Ronald Halstead for that kind introduction. Allow me, through you, Sir Ronald Halstead to thank the Conservative Foreign & Commonwealth Council for the invitation and for the opportunity given to me to share with you some views on the Foreign Policy of Mauritius. I also wish to thank you all for your presence here and for your interest to know more about Mauritius and the way we are conducting our foreign affairs.
Who are we?
Distinguished guests,
Coming to the House of Commons is always a reminder of the strong historical ties that Mauritius has with Great Britain. The British legacy in Mauritius is very strong and visible. And we both have a lot in common: the way we conduct government and public affairs are strikingly similar. The judicial system of Mauritius has many similarities with your judicial system here. Our highest court of appeal is still the Privy Council. For young Mauritians the most favoured destination for tertiary studies is Great Britain. Interestingly, more than half of the Cabinet Ministers in Mauritius are UK educated.
In our day to day life, we both share common values such as democracy, human rights, tolerance, justice and equality, freedom of religion, freedom of speech and freedom of association.
In Mauritius, these values have forged our identity as a peace loving nation. Today, democratic principles, respect for human rights, civil and religious liberties, respect for the rule of law, free and fair elections are entrenched in our constitution. We not only believe in these sacrosanct values but also respect them both in letter and spirit. These values are all well established and embodied in our institutions. They are our deepest-held beliefs.
Keeping the social cohesion in a multi-ethnic society like Mauritius is no easy task. Too often, we tend to take our democratic culture and social cohesion for granted. But let me tell you, maintaining this cohesion is indeed a tall order and requires a lot of political wisdom and magnanimity.
A man one vision
On our independence from the UK in 1968, inspired by many great statesmen of his time (I am sure Prime Minister Macmillan has been one of them), the first Prime Minister of Mauritius and the father of our nation Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam embraced democracy as the way of governance. Coincidentally, it was Harold Macmillan who was at the helm of Government in the UK when the 1961 Constitutional Review Conference was held in London which set the ball rolling for Mauritius to achieve its independence.
Let me repeat what Robert Rotberg, President of the World Peace Foundation and Director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict at Harvard University's JFK School of Government had to say about Mauritius and the strategic choices that the father of the nation made at the time of our independence: “when Sir Seewoosagur took the Mauritian prime ministerial reins in 1968 immediately after independence in 1968, he understood that the island’s mélange of colours and peoples…could not long survive in peace if he and others were anything but transparently democratic. He stressed open politics, nurtured social capital, welcomed a free press, and strengthened the rule of law inherited from Britain, and earlier from France”.
Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam inherited not a nation but a fragmented society, with people of diverse religions, colour and creed. But thanks to his wisdom and long-term vision, he decided to focus on developing a sense of nationhood. He knew that any economic progress would tend to unravel one day if it were not built on a strong foundation of national unity.
Thus the strategic decisions taken by the father of the nation in the early years of our independence set the stage for our domestic and foreign policy agenda for the years to come. The policy focused on how to empower our people and consolidate the socio-economic pillars of newly-independent Mauritius.
It was important at that time to build new linkages and reinforce existing ones with other countries and regional groupings. We had to make ourselves a credible place within the international community to further our economic, political and human development agenda.
After independence, we joined important groupings such as the Organisation of African Unity (now African Union), the Non Aligned Movement (NAM), the Commonwealth. The OAU conferred to us our African identity and the African platform helped us join the Lomé Conventions.
Within the Commonwealth, we are not only reminded of our British colonial past, but we identify ourselves with the whole set of values and principles that characterises this 53-member body. We see the Commonwealth as an ideal model for international relations in the 21st Century. In fact, I am deeply honoured that the Chairperson of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Baroness Prashar is present amongst us today. We both agree that the Commonwealth should strive to be a body that continually generates new ideas that lends itself to face the socio-economic challenges of this new century, particularly in the developing world.
Mauritius also joined the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of States which allows us to export duty and quota free goods to the EU market. We are also member of the Francophonie- which groups French speaking countries under one umbrella.
Over these past years, we worked relentlessly to elevate our regional and international standing. In that part of the world where we belong, we now hold high the banner of democracy, peace and development. And we are proud of doing so.
Foreign policy and our economic agenda
Distinguished guests,
Today, while there are many elements to our foreign policy, our overarching priority remains the consolidation of our socio-economic development and surmounting the imminent economic dangers facing us. We need to use all possible leverages in our foreign relations to do so. For that reason, the twenty diplomatic posts that we have abroad have become absolutely critical in our overall strategy.
For you to understand what we are doing in our foreign policy, it is essential I tell you how the Mauritian economy has evolved over time.
Traditionally, the Mauritian economy has been based on trade preferences. But today, as you know, the world economic stage is set very differently. And Mauritius is fully conscious that we are operating in a heavily globalised world.
New trade rules are shaping the global economic agenda. It is equally true that this new global economic paradigm has left many small and vulnerable economies like Mauritius faced with severe economic hardship.
Suddenly, in Mauritius, we are finding ourselves in a zone of economic turbulence. Indeed, the end- result has been very brutal. What we are facing today in Mauritius is a triple shock- a drastic 36 % cut of sugar prices by the EU, the phasing out of the Multi-Fibre Agreement which led to the closure of several local textile and clothing factories causing the loss of 30,000 jobs and thirdly, a soaring oil price on the world market.
Sugar Protocol- Sweet sugar bitter sugar
When we started after independence, Mauritius was an agrarian economy based mainly on sugar production. Sugar has formed an integral part of our history and culture. After sugarcane plant was introduced in Mauritius in 1639 by the Dutch colonizers, it was France and Britain- the colonial powers who used the slave trade from Africa and indentured labour from India to expand and consolidate the sugar industry.
For the entire period of our history, the life of our people has been mobilised around sugar cane fields. Sugar became the defining feature of a nation.
Since 1951, Mauritius traded sugar under the historical Commonwealth Sugar Agreement and under the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol since 1975. The Sugar Protocol is a trade agreement of indefinite duration between the European Union and nineteen ACP states, including Mauritius.
Article 1 of the Protocol says: "The Community undertakes for an indefinite period to purchase and import, at guaranteed prices, specific quantities of cane sugar, raw or white, which originate in the ACP states and which these States undertake to deliver to it".
But what is also important for all of us is to bear in mind that the Protocol was agreed to when world sugar prices were three times the Sugar Protocol prices and there was accrued shortage of sugar on the European market. Despite those conditions, we had agreed to sell our sugar cheaper because we believed in a long-term forward-looking economic partnership with Europe.
Under the Protocol, Mauritius has a quota of 507, 000 tonnes of sugar at a guaranteed price for export to the EU market. The revenue under the Sugar Protocol has provided Mauritius with stable and predictable level of earnings. This has in turn allowed Mauritius to ensure a decent standard of living for its citizens.
Over time, the sugar revenue permeated through the whole economy. It created vital multiplier effects. With the sugar revenue, we developed our tourism, textile and services sectors. The multitude of benefits secured through the multifunctional role of sugar underpins the very stability of the Mauritian society.
But now, following the 24 November 2005 decision by the EU Council of Ministers to radically reform the Sugar Regime, our revenue from sugar will decrease by 36 % over four years. This constitutes a very significant revenue loss and a massive setback to our economy. With the sugar regime reform, we are looking at the inevitable destruction in ACP countries of centuries old traditions of sugar production with devastating socio-economic consequences.
In the case of Mauritius, our sugar industry needs to survive and we will make it survive. The livelihood of 30,000 small, vulnerable planters depends on it. These people have no alternative sources of revenue.
We are, therefore, reforming our sugar industry to substantially lower production costs. Mauritius needs to become a competitive sugar supplier in the new market environment. At the same time, we are exploring other avenues through rapid diversification within the sugar cane cluster.
But what is critical is the EU, as promised, assists ACP countries with adequate accompanying measures that would help ACP countries adapt to the EU sugar regime reform. The current package allocated by the EU is unfair and unrealistic to allow us effectively implement our adaptation strategy. We strongly believe that the EU has a "moral and humanitarian" obligation to provide a fair and realistic package to countries like Mauritius.
We are currently mobilising all our diplomatic resources in this regard. In Brussels, Geneva, in the various European capitals including here in London, in Paris, Luxemburg etc, we are carrying out intense lobbying exercise. Our Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam and his Government are fully engaged in the process.
At the WTO in Geneva, we are fighting hard to ensure that, among others, sugar finds itself in the list of sensitive products and that the special safeguard clause enables us to give the security to our Sugar Protocol. We need the EU to support Mauritius on this.
Today, our historical trading partners in Europe, including UK, have the moral obligation to help us sail through safely. We expect them to respond sensibly to our concerns. This is the least that we expect from them at this critical juncture in our history.
Mauritius Economic Reform Strategy and Aid for Trade
Over the past few years in Mauritius, growth has slowed down and so has its job-creating stimulus; unemployment has risen appreciably; net FDI has reached marginal levels, external current deficits have emerged; and debt has reached unsustainable levels.
To mitigate these effects and the triple shock that Mauritius is facing, we have put together a bold and wide-ranging economic reform strategy which focuses on four planks: fiscal consolidation, improving the investment climate, mobilising foreign direct investment, and restructuring the economy.
Through the Reform Strategy, Mauritius is aiming at turning itself into a duty free island, opening itself to investment, technology, ideas and skilled expatriate workers. Simultaneously, the reform programme is aiming at minimising Government control, forging a strong domestic entrepreneurial spirit, liberalising labour, tax and investment regime and competing freely on the international market while seeking new opportunities from trade.
In these measures, we see the early contours of an open and economically prosperous Mauritius, which will find itself well grounded in the global economy.
Already the 2006/07 Budget marks the starting point of the reform programme. We know the political cost of the reform is very high and risky. But yet, there is no other option if we are to survive in the years to come.
Implementing the reform programme will require US$ 3.2 billion. While we might be able to mobilise half of the amount at the domestic level, the other half should take the form of FDI and financial assistance.
Mauritius has placed much hope in the recommendations of the WTO Aid for Trade Task Force which has called on the international community to provide additional resources to address the development needs of developing countries. Small and Vulnerable Economies, including Mauritius, expect that particular attention in implementing these recommendations will be given to us because we are the ones most affected by trade liberalisation at the regional and multilateral levels.
We are constantly talking to the UK Government and other donor countries to fully support the reform programmes in the SVEs, particularly Mauritius which has already elaborated one.
You will agree with me that poverty, economic development, peace and security are all intertwined. That’s why my Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam at the UN General last week stressed that the developed world has the special responsibility to help support developmental strategies that would ensure economic progress and social stability in the developing world. This is where we see Aid for Trade as the appropriate mechanism now available to help developing countries better integrate the world economy.
Bilateral relations and Regional Cooperation
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Since independence, the multicultural heritage of Mauritius led to the weaving of close and friendly ties with those countries from which our ancestors hailed. Our colonial history and the perception of the need to establish close relations with the centres of power also dictated the philosophy of our diplomatic relations.
Today, we have a very vibrant bilateral relation with a number of countries. We have privileged relations with India, China, France, Mozambique and Madagascar to name a few.
Our historical ties with the UK are already known to you. The bilateral ties between Mauritius and the UK are generally excellent and traditionally the UK has been a very significant donor of technical assistance to Mauritius.
Here let me highlight one aspect of the UK-Mauritius relationship on which both countries need to engage further discussions- the issue of Chagos Archipelago, including Diego Garcia.
As you know, the Archipelago was excised from the territory of Mauritius for military purposes in complete disregard of United Nations General Assembly resolutions of 1541 and 2066. This excise has also engendered an appalling human catastrophe with the unlawful displacement of the Chagossians from the Chagos.
Mauritius is committed to exercise full sovereignty over all its territory, including the Chagos Archipelago. We strongly believe there is a solution to this territorial dispute. We stand ready to constructively discuss the matter with the UK and the U.S..
As part of our strategy to open new business opportunities, attract FDI and to become a business and financial centre for the African region, Mauritius is presently deepening and diversifying its cooperation policy with friendly countries in the traditional areas as well as in other emerging sectors- ICT, Aquaculture, Knowledge hub, Ethanol production, medical tourism etc.
Today, more and more British investors are looking at Mauritius as a serious investment option. They want to avail of the investment facilities provided by our Government. Earlier this year, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and the British Marine Federation (BMF) undertook exploratory missions to Mauritius. Last week, another group of British business people went to Mauritius to explore business opportunities. And the feedback is really encouraging. I must tell you in Mauritius, we have the added advantage that others may not have: you can mix business with pleasure!
With India, we are concluding a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA). This will allow even closer collaboration between India and Mauritius in many sectors of economic activity. The CECPA also has a Free Trade Area dimension to it. We do have an excellent Double Taxation Agreement with India which, over time, has significantly helped the expansion of our Offshore and Services sectors.
With the U.S., last week in Washington, our Foreign Minister signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The Agreement is testimony to the active cooperation and dialogue that exist between Mauritius and the U.S.. This also shows both countries’ willingness to build upon existing political and economic ties in order to increase trade and investment.
We are contemplating a comprehensive bilateral partnership agreement with China to take our privileged relationship and cooperation with the emerging giant to a very high level.
With regard to regional cooperation, Mauritius believes in the potential that our region represents. We have always given prominence to regional cooperation and integration. And in that spirit, we take our membership within SADC, COMESA, IOR-ARC, NEPAD and the IOC very seriously. We are engaged proactively on a number of fronts, both politically and economically, within these regional bodies.
Global issues
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Mauritius has been holding very principled positions on many of the pressing global issues facing us today.
The recent war between Israel and Lebanon reminds us of the extremely volatile situation in the Middle East and the urgency with which the international community should address the political dimension of the conflict.
The core of the instability in the Middle East remains the situation in the Occupied Territories. Everyday a human tragedy unfolds there. It’s nearly forty years now that the Palestinian people are living under occupation. This cannot go on like this.
It is time that a permanent solution to the conflict is found. Mauritius fully supports the Quartet in its efforts towards a resumption of negotiations for the implementation of the Road Map.
Terrorism remains the calling of our times which can only be defeated through international cooperation and concerted response. But at the same time, it is equally important that enough efforts be made to understand and tackle the root causes of terrorism. Mauritius unreservedly condemns all acts of terror and supports all international efforts to combat it. We are signatory to most international instruments on terrorism.
Within the UN, as a member of the Human Rights Council, we are actively engaged in advancing the cause of human rights and freedom.
But if there is one UN issue which is frustrating the wider membership of this institution, it is the question of UN reforms. We regard the UN as the pre-eminent institution of multilateralism and which needs major reforms to strengthen its relevance, effectiveness, and accountability.
More importantly, the Security Council needs a comprehensive reform and its membership should reflect the geopolitical reality of the 21st Century, and not that of the bygone era. We believe that Africa deserves its legitimate place in the permanent category. Also, India, the most populous democracy in the world is rightfully entitled to a permanent seat on the Security Council.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In a nutshell, I have tried giving you a glimpse of what we are doing in our foreign policy. Obviously, I could not do justice to every single aspect of our foreign policy, but I hope that with the above, you have captured the essential elements of it.
At the end of this exposé, I am convinced that you appreciate all the efforts to give our people a better future, greater prosperity and a better world. As our Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam promised "the future of our country is nothing less than a first class world country, modern, with commensurate economic benefits for all our people".
Before concluding, I would like to quote what Erasmus once wrote "there are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other". I would say Mauritian people fall in the third category.
Thank you for your attention.