ECONOMIC COOPERATION – Mutual interests between Mauritius and Madagascar

A meeting was held yesterday between the France-Madagascar CCI and a delegation of Mauritian companies. The opportunity to highlight the potential of the two countries and their respective business climate.

Are we moving towards greater cooperation between the Big Island and Mauritius? Bilateral cooperation, particularly on the economic level, between the two countries is not new. It is even an institution that dates back more than fifty years and is focused on the economic level in a large part of the cases. On Tuesday, a delegation of Mauritian companies came to meet economic operators from Madagascar during a business meeting organized by the France-Madagascar Chamber of Commerce and Industry. His Mauritian counterpart came to prospect if we are to believe the president of the France-Mauritius CCI, John Benatouil. The business climate on the Big Island is also on the mend.

It even presents a dynamic which is improving, thanks to the efforts undertaken on both sides by economic actors.

“We see that there are efforts being made in Madagascar in relation to the business climate. There is, for example, progress in terms of digitalization, in particular in relation to the digital platform set up by the EDBM (Economic Development Board of Madagascar, Editor’s note) which greatly facilitates the creation of businesses in the Big Island. . But also the incentive schemes allowing companies to set up,” confided John Benatouil yesterday during the business meeting at the Trade Tower Ivandry.

Win-win

This is obviously not the first time that a meeting of this type has been held and that highlighting the complementarities of the two countries in a “win-win” spirit has been discussed between the two countries. This business meeting is part of the partnership between the two chambers of commerce, which was signed in 2022. An agreement which aims to facilitate the development of the companies which adhere to it.

During the meeting between the two chambers as well as the dozen Mauritian companies who came for prospecting, the economic situation between the two countries and their respective business climate was at the heart of the meeting. Mauritius presents interesting characteristics when it comes to business opportunities. Mauritius is among the countries where the business environment is healthy. Positioned at the crossroads between Africa and Asia, its assets are diversified and may interest more than one person because it facilitates the internationalization of companies towards these two continents.

The island is also experiencing a boom in its tourism sector with more than a million visitors coming each year and 20% contribution of this sector to their economy. Adjoined to this, come the different sectors of activity such as textiles, sugar, the financial sector and services with a spectacular development of Fintech, IT and BPO. “These are also the predominant sectors for Mauritian investments in Madagascar,” confirms Josielle Rafidy, general director of EDBM.

Itamara Randriamamonjy