The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Mauritius and Turkey was signed on 09 September in Istanbul. The signatories were the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr Arvin Boolell, for the Mauritian side and the Minister of Economy, Mr. Zafer Caglayan, for the Turkish government.
According to Dr Arvin Boolell, the Agreement represents a milestone in the relations between the two countries and is also a crucial step in implementing what is expected to be a major new chapter in bilateral relations. ‘Through the FTA we want to create a legally secure, predictable and reliable environment that is conducive to attracting investments and which in turn will help create jobs, spark new industries and drive broad based inclusive growth’, he stated.
For Dr Boolell, this is critically important against the backdrop of the global crisis. ‘We want this FTA to help increase trade, promote diversification, attract investment and encourage technology transfer. We must also mainstream the SMEs in this new trade initiative by offering a wide range of choices in terms of inputs, low cost machineries, spare parts and affordable technologies,’ he said.
For his part, the Turkish Minister recalled that Turkey is closely linked to the maritime history of the Indian Ocean since the 16th century and has collaborated with Mauritius in making the island as a trade hub in the region. He mentioned several projects meant to provide development support to Mauritius, among which an Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement between the two countries.
The FTA
The FTA will provide enhanced market with duty free access on most industrial products. All Mauritian industrial products will enter Turkey duty free with the exception of some 70 lines related to textiles which will be phased on four years. Mauritius will offer duty free access on more than 80% of its tariff lines to Turkish products. The Agreement also provides a platform for encouraging investment from Turkish businessmen. Mauritius can be used as a gateway to the African continent.
It is expected that trade will be boosted to USD 100 million in two years time with the FTA. This Agreement will cover a market of more than 500 million persons taking into consideration Turkey, Mauritius and the involvement of the latter in several regional blocs. As it is, Mauritius belongs to the SADC and COMESA configurations with a combined size of 527 million inhabitants. Turkey, on its own, is a big market nearing 90 million people but having extended outreach to the Balkans, East Europe and Central Asia.
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