08 August 2013

Trade Facilitation - Mauritius Trade Portal operational

Mauritius Trade Easy, a state-of-the-art trade portal aiming at providing maximum information to the business community and to the public at large relating to import and export procedures in Mauritius, was launched this morning at Le Labourdonnais Waterfront Hotel, in Port Louis.

The comprehensive trade portal also has as objective to provide information on opportunities that exist on the regional and international markets under the different Agreements signed by Mauritius.  It will be of help primarily to SMEs and those who want to embark on the import and export markets and also be a valuable source of information on additional market opportunities to the already established businesses in Mauritius.  The portal, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, can be accessed at www.mauritiustrade.mu

The Portal comprises several components, namely: import and export procedures, trading with Mauritius, market intelligence, Mauritius Trade Agreements, Intellectual Property Policy, as well as useful links.  Users can also access market data relating to Mauritius which include market reports, business alerts, and import-export flows.  Mauritius’ economic outline and trade profile is available under the component Trading with Mauritius.

In his address at the launching ceremony, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr Arvin Boolell, observed that the Mauritius Trade Portal is a first of its kind not only in Mauritius but also in the region with the prime aim to facilitate import and export.  He highlighted the importance of international trade for Mauritius which he qualified as ‘the lifeblood of our economy’.

According to the Minister, Mauritius has been engaged in a process of reciprocal market opening at the regional and bilateral levels to create favourable market access conditions for our exporters so that they can develop a competitive edge over their competitors.  Government is committed to further improving the trading environment and is actively engaged in opening up opportunities in emerging markets particularly in Asia as well as diversifying Mauritius’ market base within Africa to further expand the circle of opportunities, added Dr Boolell.

For his part the Minister of Information and Communication Technology, Mr Tassarajen Pillay Chedumbrum, pointed out that the Mauritius Trade Portal is a means to portray what Mauritius has to offer in terms of trade facilitation and will also put to the forefront the know-how of SMEs.  He also highlighted the importance of ICT in modernising the country and its increasing contribution to the growth of the Mauritian economy.

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