UAE, Mauritius to enhance ties in key areas of central banking

The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) and the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to enhance cooperation in key areas of central banking and share supervisory information.

The MoU covers four activities - cooperation on supervision, the exchange of supervisory information, developing aspects of financial issues of common concern, and collaboration on capacity building, training and technical assistance. The MoU was signed by Khaled Mohamed Balama, Governor of the CBUAE, and Harvesh Kumar Seegolam, Governor of the Bank of Mauritius.

Under this agreement, the CBUAE and BoM will exchange information during licensing processes and ongoing supervision of banks and other financial institutions operating in both countries to ensure effective cross-border supervision while maintaining complete information confidentiality.

Both parties will also share experience on the stability and development of financial systems, the performance and development of payments systems, clearing and settlement systems, anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism and proliferation, cyber-security and digital innovation in financial services. This includes digital currencies, FinTech regulation, private and digital banking, green finance, RegTech and SupTech, which will contribute to achieving the two countries’ common interests.

Commenting on the MoU signing, the CBUAE Governor said, “We are keen to strengthen cooperation with our regional partners, including Bank of Mauritius, to achieve common goals in enhancing banking supervision and exchanging the necessary information on other financial and banking fields to protect our financial systems.”

Mauritius’ representative office: The Economic Development Board (EDB), the national investment promotion agency of the Government of Mauritius, has opened a new representative office at headquarters of Dubai Chambers, with the aim of promoting bilateral ties and identifying opportunities in the UAE that Mauritian companies can benefit from.

The new office is part of joint cooperation efforts between Dubai Chambers and EDB and the board’s presence in Dubai establishes a solid foundation for the organisation to expand UAE-Mauritius economic cooperation, create new channels of dialogue, build economic partnerships and facilitate bilateral trade and investment.

The inauguration of EDB’s office came during a high-level delegation visit to the UAE led by Prithvirajsing Roopun G.C.S.K., President of the Republic of Mauritius. During the visit, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between Dubai Chambers and EDB Mauritius in the presence of Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, which facilitates joint cooperation efforts and supports economic partnerships.

Under the terms of the agreement, Dubai Chambers and EDB Mauritius will expand cooperation and enable exchange between their respective member companies operating in financial services, ICT, manufacturing, healthcare, ocean economy, renewable energy and property development. The two entities will establish frameworks to achieve their economic objectives, create new channels for business exchange, as well as exchange best practices, information and knowledge on trade and investment.

During the visit, the Mauritian President said the new representative office of EDB in Dubai would help boost Mauritius exports to the UAE, expand and strengthen bilateral ties and investment cooperation across various sectors, and create benefits for UAE and Mauritian businesses.

“There is a global consensus that Dubai is playing a leading role on the global scene and we are so happy to be Dubai’s partner,” President Roopun said.

For his part, Al Ghurair described the EDB’s move and the MoU as important developments that will take UAE-Mauritius trade relations to the next level and accelerate business exchange.

Over the last decade, Dubai’s trade and investment relationship with Africa has gone from strength as more African companies have entered the UAE market, while many UAE companies have expanded their presence in Africa, Al Ghurair revealed that Dubai’s non-oil trade with Mauritius during the past three years (2018-2020) reached Dhs1.1 billion and said there was huge potential to further expand the volume and scope of bilateral trade and position Dubai as a preferred hub for Mauritian exports and re-exports.

Al Ghurair reiterated the strong commitment of Dubai Chambers to provide all facilities and resources necessary to facilitate trade between the UAE and Mauritius and ensure that bilateral economic ties continue to expand and flourish.

The inauguration of EDB’s office at Dubai Chambers was attended by Dr. Renganaden Padayachy, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Mauritius; Dubai Chambers officials; as well as the visiting Mauritian delegation joined by several government representatives.

WAM