EU and Indian Ocean Island-States Sign Enhanced Economic Partnership Agreement

On 10 June 2026 in Mauritius, the EU announced that it had successfully concluded an Enhanced Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with some island-states in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) after six years of talks. The key amendments pertain to services and investments, and expand to new sectors of cooperation such as Mining, #BlueEconomy, Logistics, #Digitalization, and #RenewableEnergy.

The ESA bloc includes Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and the Seychelles. The Head of EU Mission to Mauritius and Seychelles, Oskar Benedikt, Comoros’ Minister for Economic Affairs, Hassani Mohamed, Madagascar’s Minister of Trade, Angele Andriamadison, Mauritius’ Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dhananjay Ramful, and Seychelles’ Minister for Transport, Ports & Civil Aviation, Veronique Laporte represented the various parties and signed the landmark accord.

The EU and ESA agree to offer non-discriminatory treatment to each other’s firms in the services sector. Experts from the EU will be able to enter ESA states to provide professional services for up to six months.

To promote investment, Mauritius called for the establishment of a regular EU-ESA Business Forum. Other than traditional sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, and financial services, the private sector on both sides is invited to forge new partnerships in the sectors of the future.

Both sides agreed to adhere to international law and global best practices while fostering economic partnerships. In particular, both sides reiterated their commitment and respect for the #ParisAccord on #ClimateChange, the International Labor Organization Standards, #GenderEquality, and sustainable exploitation of natural resources. Both sides will ensure legal protection for Geographical Indications (GI) of their products.

Negotiations between the European Union and other Eastern and Southern African countries are ongoing, and Zimbabwe is likely to be the next country to sign an #FTA with the EU. After Mugabe took power, Zimbabwe was blacklisted by Western countries. But, recently, Zimbabwe has been making progress by providing some compensation for nationalized land. Its rich reserves of #CriticalMinerals make it a potential key partner for the EU’s #EnergyTransition.

In line with established procedures, the signed EPA must follow the ratification process of each country involved. Given the strategic value and projected benefits, all sides appear to be on the same page to push it forward and make it effective as soon as possible.