Mauritius and the World Bank (WB) Group are putting forward the new Country Partnership Framework for Mauritius, which outlines the operational and strategic framework of collaboration for the period 2015-2020.
This was at the fore of discussions during a courtesy call by the World Bank Country Director for Mauritius, Mr Mark R. Lundell, on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, this morning, at the Treasury Building in Port Louis.
Discussions also focused on short and long term development strategies to meet future challenges as well as on new avenues for greater cooperation between the WB Group and Mauritius in the development of strategic and emerging sectors as spelt out in the Government Programme 2015-2019. They are namely: the Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) sector; Education; Renewable Energy and the Ocean Economy, among other areas.
In a statement Mr Mark R. Lundell reiterated the commitment of the WB to support Mauritius in its economic development path. The innovative approach enunciated in the Government programme will , he added be the focus of the WB on how Mauritius can regain its brand as a source of innovation for its domestic economy as well as regionally.
He stressed the need for better linkages between the development of emerging sectors such as ICT and financial services, and employment opportunities for the middle class. This, he said, will be the key criteria for the WB with regard to analysing the various economic sectors not just in its ability of being profitable and successful to Mauritius but also in terms of generating employment.
The World Bank Group has been supporting Mauritius with lending and non-lending assistance which is complemented with technical and analytical support on a variety of topics, including infrastructure, review of public expenditure, health, tourism, education, social protection and poverty, public enterprises, civil service reforms, finance, diaspora, and institutional strengthening with the government. A number of knowledge and technical assistance projects related to monitoring and assessment of poverty and inequality are in the pipeline.
Mr. Mark Lundell is the World Bank Country Director for Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles, and Comoros. He has joined the World Bank in the Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region in the early nineties. He has since held positions of increasing responsibility within the World Bank, including as Sector Manager, Sustainable Development, in the Beijing Office. Coming from the US Department of Agriculture, Mr. Lundell has also served as Sector Leader in the Latin America and Caribbean region.
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