Mauritius: The Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Maneesh Gobin, received, at his office in Port Louis, yesterday, the Minister of International Cooperation and Promotion of Public-Private Partnership of the Republic of Congo, Denis Christel Sassou N’Guesso.
A working session between representatives of the Republic of Mauritius and the Republic of Congo followed the courtesy call. A communiqué from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade was issued outlining the main outcome of the meeting.
According to the communiqué, both Ministers officially endorsed a ‘Déclaration conjointe’ marking their commitment to delineate the key strategic areas of cooperation between the two countries during the working session.
The Attorney General, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, recalled the friendly ties between Mauritius and Congo and highlighted the opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest.
Mauritius and Congo signed in 2010 a General Cooperation Agreement. Five agreements were signed in 2011. These include a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement and an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement. Further cooperation was being envisaged in air connectivity and higher education.
Maneesh Gobin stressed the need to improve connectivity and people mobility between the two countries to facilitate economic exchanges. Both sides expressed the wish to finalise the operationalisation of existing cooperation agreements.
The inaugural session of the Joint Mauritius-Congo Commission was scheduled to take place in the first half of 2024, during which it would comprehensively assess the ongoing cooperation between the two nations and pave the way for new avenues of bilateral relations. Mauritian private sector groups were being encouraged to explore investment opportunities in the Republic of Congo.
For his part, Denis Christel Sassou N’Guesso elaborated on the Three Basins Summit to be held in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, from 26 to 28 October 2023.
The Three Basins Summit will unite leaders from the Amazon, Congo and Borneo-Mekong-Southeast Asia regions to form a global coalition. These regions alone account for 80% of the world’s tropical forests and two-thirds of terrestrial biodiversity, essential in regulating the carbon balance.
The Three Basins Summit is expected to thrash out very vital climate issues ahead of the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which will take place from 30 November to 12 December 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Minister Maneesh Gobin informed of Mauritius’s support to this initiative and called for more effective and international climate finance to address the challenges of carbon capture and preservation of biodiversity in these regions while ensuring the livelihood of the local communities.