Mauritius may soon decide on MRPL contract renewal issue

Mauritius has conveyed to India that issues regarding renewal of contract with Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) have been sorted out and a final decision in this regard was expected soon.

The matter was discussed during the meeting between Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma and Mauritius Minister of Industry, Commerce and Consumer Protection Sayyad Abd-Al-Cader Sayed Hossen here last evening.

"During the meeting, the Mauritian minister conveyed that most of the issues regarding renewal of contract with MRPL have been sorted out and the final touches are being put in place," an official statement said.

Mr. Sharma, who is here to attend the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC) Economic and Business Conference reiterated India's commitment to ensure uninterrupted supply of petroleum products to Mauritius.

India's exports to Mauritius comprises largely of petroleum products following a three year agreement signed between MRPL and the State Trading Corporation of Mauritius in July 2007 for the supply of all petroleum requirement of Mauritius.

The agreement is expected to be renewed later this month. On the issue of India's basmati rice export to Mauritius, Hossen assured that there is a broad agreement on the proposal and it will soon revert on it.

In May, a draft agreement for recognition of export inspection and certification system of Export Inspection Council (EIC) of India for export of basmati rice was forwarded to Mauritius government.
Sharma said India would be happy to extend any assistance with regard to the issue.

Basmati rice is a unique Geographical Indication (GI) product under the WTO. India has already nominated the EIC as the nodal agency for issuing the Certificate of Authenticity for basmati rice exports from India to Mauritius.

On mango exports, the Mauritian side informed Sharma that they will cooperate with regard to harmonisation of standards. Both the sides also deliberated on the forthcoming Ministerial meeting of WTO in Bali.

"The development dimension of the (WTO) round should not be lost sight of and Trade Facilitation (TF) cannot be the only outcome. G-33 proposal on food security is also important  expected outcome of the Ministerial," Mr. Sharma said.

The bilateral trade between the two countries stood at $1.33 billion in 2012-13. India received highest FDI worth $74 billion from Mauritius between April 2000 and April 2013, accounting for 38 per cent of the total FDI during the period.