Mauritius supports Seychelles’ WTO accession |14 June 2011

This follows bilateral consultations held on Sunday in Johannesburg, South Africa in the lead-up to the 2nd Comesa-EAC-SADC Tripartite Summit.

The Declaration of Support, which was signed by the Mauritian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, Dr. Arvin Boolell, and the Vice-President of Seychelles and Minister for Finance and Trade, Danny Faure, means that Mauritius accepts the Goods and Services Offers made to the WTO by Seychelles with no reservations.
 
The Goods and Services Offers outline the highest level of openness of Seychelles to foreign trade and are part of the basic package to be negotiated as a condition of entry into the organisation.

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, Mr Faure thanked the Mauritian government for its 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 said.

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

Seychelles re-initiated WTO accession process in 2010 and has signed similar agreements with Oman, who is also the chairperson for the Working Party on Seychelles accession to the WTO.