Earlier this month, Mauritius and China kicked off the first round of negotiations on the Mauritius-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) at Balaclava, Mauritius.

The first ever FTA between China and an Africa State, this agreement will no doubt bring significant developments in the bilateral trade and investment relations, and further deepen economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Mauritius side underlined the importance to eliminate trade barriers on core products of interest to each side and also on key services sectors including financial services, distribution, retailing, insurance, education, legal and accounting, ICT/BPO, agribusiness, medical, and logistics.

The Head of the Chinese delegation, and Deputy Director General, Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, Mr Hu Yingzhi, stated that an FTA will definitely provide and institutional guarantee for future economic and trade relations and also strengthen the friendly ties between Mauritius and China; and more broadly, it will contribute to cooperation between China and Africa.