Japan Envisages to Leverage Mauritius IFC to Invest in Africa

On 5 May 2023, the Economic Development Board (EDB) and the Embassy of Japan in Mauritius jointly held the Mauritius-Japan Business Forum at Sofitel Imperial Hotel at Flic-en-Flac.

For the occasion, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Yamada Kenji, led a business delegation of 19 top Japanese enterprises to Mauritius. In his keynote speech, Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth lauded the dynamic bilateral ties between Mauritius and Japan exemplified by partnership in #BlueEconomy, #MaritimeSecurity and #ClimateChange.

In the future, Mauritius expressed the wish to expand cooperation in Tourism, ICT, AI and Healthcare, amongst others. The World Bank ranks Mauritius first in Africa in terms of Ease of Doing Business and Mauritius is a mature democracy where the rule of law prevails.

“Mauritius offers a unique advantage of being geographically well-positioned as a strategic gateway between Asia and Africa, with a conducive framework for business, including political, legislative, economic and diplomatic factors.”

Mauritian PM Pravind Jugnauth

Minister Yamada Kenji agreed that Mauritius is indeed an attractive platform to consolidate and structure deals into the African continent. Thanks to its historical ties with both Asia and Africa, Japanese businesses feel a certain level of familiarity and comfort to conduct their business across Africa from the Mauritius base.