With Brexit looming right around the corner, we speak with the British High Commissioner, Keith Allan about how the UK coming out of the EU can affect economic ties between Mauritius and one of its largest economic partners. Also, how the revision of the India-Mauritius DTAA will affect British investment into Mauritius and what’s going with the Chagos dispute. 

Britain is in the middle of a tempest about Brexit that will also have implications on other countries such as Mauritius. What effect do you think Brexit will have on Mauritius? 
I think first of all we do recognise and appreciate the trade relationship that Mauritius has with the UK. It’s important to the UK as well. I think in 2017, our bilateral trade was worth £900 million, which is not insignificant and it is quite evenly balanced. 

There are suggestions from some agencies here that Brexit will destroy Mauritian exports to the UK. Is it?
I think Brexit is a challenge and it’s all about how we manage it. I think it’s very easy to blame Brexit but the reality is that the Mauritian economy has been changing over many years, rightly. Mauritius has been diversifying away from sugar, and so the nature of the exports from Mauritius to the UK has been changing as well. But to say that this is all due to Brexit is not accurate and I would encourage those that report along those lines – and I am talking about agencies, not so much the media – to do a bit more research on that. 

What will the research yield? 
That the UK remain the largest export market for Mauritius. Yes, there is less sugar but more tuna, textile products… And we want to see trade to increase and Mauritian exports to the UK increase as well. That is what we are trying to do. We are working with the department of internal trade on ways to do that and increase British investment into Mauritius as well. 

What kind of British investment do you foresee? 
Obviously, it would be in the financial services sector which has been growing. We have seen a number of investment companies coming here, local companies expanding their services and a lot of people are interested in Mauritius as a hub and gateway for the region. The British prime minister stated that the UK wants to become the largest G7 investor in Africa. We are currently second. So this will mean a lot more investment into Africa, more resources through the department of international trade and the department for international development. Also, our high commissions and embassies are opening new posts and I am expecting to see more staff here as well. 

Isn’t the fact that financial services sector contracting since the revision of the DTAA with India not going to have any effect on British investment? 
It’s not necessarily about investments here but also about looking at the wider opportunities. The attractiveness of Mauritius as a place to invest and headquartering and doing regional business. Mauritius scores very highly in the ease of business rankings, so that’s quite attractive for investors to come here. The business may not even be in Mauritius but they have good staff here, the banking sector is working so it’s secure for businesses to do business elsewhere as well. 

Are you saying it will be business as usual even after the DTAA revision comes into effect? Some 
I mean obviously the discussions going on with India are important given the scale but I still see a lot of confidence within the sector. I see companies that have moved here in the last year or two and are quite confident about the sector here. Things are changing, absolutely, but I think that Mauritius in African terms is a very stable, secure place to do business where things work quite well for companies coming to do business in the region and base themselves here. I think we will see more of that. 

Coming to Brexit, what are the different scenarios and what effect can they have on trade with Mauritius? 
The negotiations with Brussels are ongoing and they will carry on ahead of the UK leaving the EU on March 29. There are a number of different scenarios, and it would be unfair to speculate on that. But we are doing everything we can to ensure that trade and investments continue even after Brexit. What that means is that we are signing transition agreements with countries around the world and, in this region, that means agreements with ESA countries. These economic partnership agreements are the same as the agreements that we had under the EU. That would bring continuity of trade with Mauritius and other ESA countries. The exports, the tariff-free and preferential access will continue. If the UK leaves without a deal, then that agreement will be there. If it leaves after an extension period, then that will be there as well. But in any event, the agreement is there to ensure continuity and to give confidence to the business community both here and in the UK. 

What about education, will that change or will Mauritian students still be asked to leave after they have finished their degree? 
Obviously the immigration debate is an important part of Brexit and the thinking will develop on that. Mauritian students have been and will be welcome in the UK. We don’t have as many as before, but there are other countries and other opportunities. Cost is an issue of course although I will point out that the UK is 25 percent cheaper than some other countries. This weekend, we have an education fair here and a large number of UK universities coming out. And what we want to also see is more UK universities coming here to Mauritius and delivering degrees which will give the option of staying at home and getting a UK degree. 

You talked about the dwindling number of students going to the UK. It isn’t just the result of the cost, is it? 
Perhaps you should tell me what’s discouraging them. 

The fact that they are not allowed to work and get some experience before they come back home, unlike in other countries. 
We have rules about that, as in other areas. I cannot promise that there will be changes in that. All I can say is that we recognise the good quality educated, skilled workforce that you have here and that has been adding value to the UK. We want the best of the students so we want to continue to attract them. We also want students to return and add value here. So we’ll be looking at how students here still have the opportunities to do that. 

On the political front, we are waiting for an advisory opinion on the Chagos. What impact will that have on the stand of Britain? 
We have made clear on a number of occasions that we are disappointed that Mauritius chose to take this bilateral issue to the UN and to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), but we have participated fully and with respect of the process and we will wait to see what the legally non-binding advisory opinion of the ICJ will be. We expect to hear that in the next month or two. Then we will consider that, as I am sure Mauritius will. What I think is important is that in any event, the UK and Mauritius sit down together and discuss the issue and get back to the table. So obviously, since Mauritius took the issue to the UN, we have not been able to do that. As friends and fellow commonwealth countries, we will be keen to do that. 

Why would Mauritius want to continue to do that if nothing is coming out of these talks? 
Again, we have to wait and see what the ICJ will say, and I cannot speculate on that. 

There are only two scenarios. What will do in each? 
Our stand will also be determined by the ICJ’s interpretation of the questions put to them. Again, I cannot speculate on that. What I will say that is that we will be keen and sit down and talk as friends. 

Will that affect trade relations? 
Well, I mean, we have continued to see good business and good investment between the two countries since Mauritius took that decision, but obviously that will have some effect. It holds back the progress of projects that we could have worked on together. We can do more of what I have been saying, like working together on Africa. We have similar strategies and ambitions for Africa on the education sector and various other sectors. Hopefully, we could work beyond this. 

When you say hold back on some projects, are you talking about some kind of retaliation? 
Not at all. We continue to do what we can to support trade and investment. What I am saying is that we could have had those high level discussions had a friend not decided to take us to the ICJ. So that obviously limits the amount of engagement. 

Would it not have also been useful if a friendly country decided they had made a mistake and made amends for it? 
Well again, the UK will continue to make very clear that when the BIOT and the Chagos archipelago are no longer required for defence purposes, it will be ceded back to Mauritius. That has already been said and that is not changing. 

No time limit has been set? 
Before listening to what the ICJ says, it would be wrong of me to comment on that. 

Will the ICJ’s advisory opinion be taken seriously by the UK, or will it just be treated as an advisory opinion? 
We are a member of the ICJ and we respect the court. We disagree that it was an inappropriate mechanism to decide this issue, because it was a bilateral issue and should not have been taken up there. But of course we respect the ICJ and we will look forward to hearing what is said and consider it carefully. As I said, we will be very keen to then sit down with Mauritius. 

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