Mauritius and Ghana Embark On New Era of Cooperation

Mauritius and Ghana opened a new chapter of cooperation with the signing of a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) and the agreed minutes of proceedings following the inaugural meeting of the Mauritius-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission on bilateral cooperation held on 10 March 2017 at the Shandrani Resort and Spa, Blue Bay.

The agreements were signed on 11 March 2017 at the New Treasury Building in Port Louis during a joint press conference by the Prime Minister, Minister of Home Affairs, External Communications and National Development Unit, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Pravind Jugnauth and the Vice-President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, in the context of the latter's official visit to Mauritius as Chief Guest on the occasion of the celebrations marking the 49th anniversary of Independence and 25th anniversary of the Republic of Mauritius.

The DTAA will help eliminate double taxation which is a barrier to economic activities as well as remove major impediments to bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. It will also create a conducive business environment for investors willing to engage in larger cross-border activities. As for the agreed minutes of proceedings of the Mauritius-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission, it represents another milestone into strengthening the relations between Mauritius and Ghana under which several instruments to sustain the economic cooperation between the two countries will be devised.

At the press conference after a tête-à-tête and working session with the Ghanaian Vice- President, Prime Minister Jugnauth, underpinned the importance of the visit of the Ghanaian delegation to Mauritius which according to him reflects the vision of the new economic and diplomatic stands of the Government towards the materialisation of various projects for employment creation and deepening economic relations. He stressed that it is in this perspective that the first meeting of the Mauritius-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission was co-chaired by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of both countries who gave their endorsement to accelerating project implementation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Jugnauth also expressed his gratitude to the President and the People of Ghana for their unflinching support to Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelagos issue and lauded the signing of the DTAA which he said is another landmark into cementing the ties between Mauritius and Ghana. He further elaborated on the various topics raised during the working session namely:

· review of the status of the framework agreement signed in 2015 for the setting up of a Technology Park in Dawa, Ghana;

· accelerating the setting up of the Special Economic Zone(SEZ) project in Ghana as well as a roadmap for project implementation following the incorporation of a special purpose vehicle (SPV), the Ghana Smart City Ltd, in December 2016, with 60% shareholding from Mauritius and 40% from Ghana;

· proposal by Mauritius to set up a Cyber Tower in Accra which will also accommodate a Centre of Excellence to boost trade and services and the setting up of a solar energy power generation and a tourism and hospitality project for the construction of coastal resort to boost South-South cooperation; and

· Elaboration of instruments under the Mauritius-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission such as an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement or an SPV to channel investment between the two countries.

On the cooperation front, both parties agreed to collaborate on issues of common interest at regional, continental and international levels in various spheres namely: arts and culture; gold and jewellery with the setting up of the Mauritius International Derivatives and Commodities Index; and collaboration between the Utility Regulatory Authorities of both countries, the Prime Minister stated.

Other areas of cooperation discussed pertained to the setting up of a Joint Trade and Investment Committee; conclusion of an MoU between the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry and that of Ghana for the setting up a Business Council; ICT Sector; Handicraft Sector and Health sector with the possible recruitment of Mauritian health practitioners in Ghana; and the assistance of Ghana for setting up of a Slavery Museum in Mauritius.

For his part, the Vice-President of Ghana, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, expressed appreciation regarding the fruitful discussions with the Prime Minister particularly with regards the agreed instruments under the Mauritius-Ghana Permanent Joint Commission in the various economic sectors and the DTAA. He further emphasised the need to foster more South-South cooperation and referred to the Mauritian and Ghanaian collaboration as example and expressed his gratitude to Mauritius for supporting the position of Ghana as an International Financial Services Centre in West Africa in addition to the scholarships opportunities offered to Ghanaian students to study in Mauritius. He reiterated his full support to accelerate project implementation between the two countries as well as in supporting Mauritius on the Chagos Archipelagos issue.

Dr Mahamadu Bawumia concluded by expressing his optimism that the several projects discussed are translated into concrete actions for the mutual benefit of both countries so as to develop a new era of cooperation and deepen the ties between Ghana and Mauritius.

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