Mauritius declares support for Seychelles WTO accession

Mauritius has signed an agreement with Seychelles in support of Seychelles’ accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), following bilateral consultations held yesterday in Johannesburg, South Africa, in the lead-up to the 2nd COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit.

The Declaration of Support, which was sign by the Mauritian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr. Arvin Boolell, and the Vice President to the Republic of Seychelles and Minister for Finance and Trade, Mr. Danny Faure, means that Mauritius accepts the goods and services offers made to the WTO by Seychelles with no reservations. Seychelles is required to enter into similar bilateral negotiations with all WTO working party members.

“Small island states need to continue to support each other in the field of trade, whether bilateral or within the multilateral process,” said Minister Boolell.

Following the signing, the Vice President thanked the Mauritian government for their support and praised the close ties between the two island states.

“Our accession to WTO will allow us to trade even more effectively with the rest of the world, and we are delighted with the support provided by our regional partners as demonstrated by this commitment by Mauritius,” the Vice President stated.

The declaration, which was signed in the presence of the Seychelles Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Jean-Paul Adam, and the Mauritian High Commissioner to South Africa, Mr. I. Dossa, will be forwarded on to the WTO Secretariat.

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