Both the countries recently held the 1st session of India-Mauritius High-Powered Joint Trade Committee in New Delhi. The meeting was co-chaired by Srikar K Reddy, joint secretary in the Indian department of commerce, and Narainduth Boodhoo, director of trade policy for regional integration and international trade at Mauritius’ ministry of foreign affairs.
The committee had been constituted as per the mandate of the CECPA, which entered into force on April 1, 2021, to review its general functioning and implementation. The CECPA is the first trade agreement signed by India with a country in Africa.
Both sides agreed to the inclusion of the general economic cooperation (GEC) chapter and automatic trigger safeguard mechanism (ATSM) in CECPA, according to an official release from the Indian government.
The GEC chapter will enable enhancement of export competitiveness and enlarging the existing scope for collaboration in investment, financial services, textile, small and medium enterprises, handicrafts, port infrastructure and renewable energy among other sectors.
Both the sides expressed willingness to enter into a Customs Mutual Administrative Assistance Agreement (CMMA) and agreed to initiate discussions on that soon.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)