India and Mauritius meet

The Union Minister of Commerce & Industry Shri Anand Sharma met Mr. Sayyad Abd-Al-Cader Sayed Hossen, Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection, Mauritius, in Port Louis l. 

During the meeting, India has submitted a draft proposal to Mauritius for export of basmati rice to the Indian Ocean island nation. 

Basmati rice is a unique Geographical Indication (GI) product under the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Standards in India are dynamic in nature and are currently being harmonised among all relevant institutions for ensuring uniformity which will be notified when ready. India has already nominated the Export Inspection Council as the nodal agency which will issue a Certificate of Authenticity (COA) for all basmati rice exports from India to Mauritius.

Presently India’s exports to Mauritius comprise largely petroleum products as a result of the three-year agreement signed between MRPL and the State Trading Corporation of Mauritius in July 2007 for the supply of all petroleum requirement of Mauritius. Thus during the meet, India and Mauritian ministers also discussed regarding the issue of renewal of contract with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL). The agreement is expected to be renewed later this month.

Further the Mauritian side expressed happiness on the advancements in the field of textiles and conveyed determination to take forward the intended outcomes of the Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed recently. Five institutional level MoUs were signed to take the partnership forward. These are:
i. MoU between Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and Enterprise Mauritius (EM)
ii. MoU between Northern India Textile Research Association (NITRA) and Mauritius Standards Bureau 
iii. MoU between NITRA and National Productivity and Competitive Council (NPCC) of Mauritius 
iv. MoU between Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) and Mauritius Export Association (MEXA); and 
v. MoU between Institute of Apparel Management (IAM) and Fashion and Design Institute of Mauritius (FDI) 

Apart from these MoUs, a Letter of Intent outlining the implementation plan for training for 1000 textile factory workers, 35 scholarships in the textile sector as well as the development of a compliance code (on the lines of DISHA) for 10 Mauritian textile factories was also signed between the two governments.