Mauritius for better business ties with India  

In a meeting organized by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Minister of Foreign Affairs & Regional cooperation, Mauritius A.K.Gayan stressed for closer  business ties.  He said, "The Common Market for Eastern & Southern African States (COMESA) has great opportunities for India. The Indian business community needs to proactively capitalize and leverage on these." He was speaking at an interactive session with the COMESA delegation in a CII organized meet. He believes that there are three reasons why the world would like to invest in the COMESA. They are:  

1) There are new political leaders in these nations

2) These new leaders are making all the efforts to provide stability and good governance in their countries

3) Efforts are being made to create an African Union, like the EU.

Gayan said that the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) is trying to find a way so as to enable the African nations to work closely with the private sector. He said that there has been significant improvement in the trade between Free Trade Area (FTA) members (9 eastern and South African Countries). He is expecting that more countries in the area will join the FTA. He also said that there are many opportunities for trade between India and COMESA in the areas of IT and agriculture. A.K. Gayan emphasized that Africa is ready for business and looks at India to be its active partner in international trade. Gayan is expected to sign a Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the COMESA nations and the Government of India.