By Shruti Menon Seeboo
The ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) plays a pivotal role in Mauritius’ foreign policy and regional engagement. While Mauritius is not a member of ASEAN, it actively seeks cooperation and collaboration with member states and the organisation itself.
The country’s “Look East” policy places a strong emphasis on strengthening economic, political, and cultural ties with ASEAN nations, recognising the region’s economic dynamism and strategic significance. Mauritius actively participates in ASEAN-led forums such as the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), a key forum for security dialogue in the Asia-Pacific region and seeks opportunities for trade, investment, and knowledge exchange with ASEAN member states, aligning its interests with the organisation’s principles of peace, security, and economic development. It provides Mauritius with a platform to engage in discussions related to regional security, conflict prevention, and crisis management.
We catch up with the founder of the ASEAN Community in Mauritius, Mr Johann Dy and he shares with us ASEAN-Mauritius’ vision on trade, investment, cultural exchanges, areas of mutual interest and how all of this, will reflect to the commitment of building relationships in the Asia-Pacific region and exploring opportunities for cooperation in various fields. Excerpts:
- As the founder of the ASEAN community in Mauritius, how do you envision strengthening Mauritius’ ties and collaboration with ASEAN member countries in various sectors?
First and foremost, it is important to increase local awareness of what is ASEAN. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional grouping that comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Often, ASEAN, pronounced “ah-see-yan”, is confused with “Asian” and other countries in the continent are also confused to be part of Southeast Asia. Secondly, we need to increase Mauritius’ visibility with the non-resident ASEAN diplomatic community that covers Mauritius given the lack of diplomatic missions on the ground. These are being addressed currently through media campaigns and we hope that increased collaboration will result from these steps that are being taken.
2. Could you provide insights into the economic opportunities and challenges Mauritius faces as a non-member ASEAN state, and how you plan to navigate these dynamics to benefit interests?
The main requirement for a country to form part of ASEAN is that it must be geographically located in Southeast Asia, which limits membership to the 10 countries mentioned earlier and to Timor-Leste which is expected to join the regional grouping soon. Having said that, one of the around twenty foreign diplomatic missions of Mauritius is located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which is an ASEAN Member State, so this presence can be leveraged further to increase economic opportunities between Mauritius and ASEAN, it is no surprise that the only direct flights to ASEAN are to Malaysia and packaged food products from Malaysia are also readily available in Mauritius.
3. ASEAN is known for its regional stability efforts. How does Mauritius plan to contribute to and leverage ASEAN’s efforts in maintaining peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region?
Four ASEAN Member States, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are also Member States of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), whose Secretariat is based in Mauritius. In the recently concluded 43rd ASEAN Summit and Related Summits in Jakarta, Indonesia, ASEAN and IORA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to focus on:
(i) Priority areas of cooperation of the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific and the IORA Outlook on Indo-Pacific
(ii) Blue Economy
(iii) People-to-People Exchanges
(iv) Digital and Green Economies
All of which undoubtedly helps in maintaining peace and stability in the Indian Ocean region.
4. In the context of trade and investment, how does your role here enhance economic partnerships between Mauritius and ASEAN member states?
In terms of trade and investment, the “ASEAN in Mauritius” Community would like to serve as a vehicle to enhance economic partnerships by connecting people and businesses. For example, ASEAN businesses that set-up factories in the region and would like to increase their exports by either tapping into the Mauritian market or using Mauritius as a hub for their pan-Africa operations can reach out to be connected to people in the industry they’re looking at. Likewise, Mauritian businesses looking to explore opportunities in ASEAN can also tap into our local knowledge on how to navigate the ASEAN market.
5. Mauritius has a rich cultural and historical connection with countries in the Indian Ocean. How do you plan to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation between Mauritius and ASEAN nations?
In terms of cultural exchange, some members of the “ASEAN in Mauritius” Community are professional artists and there are also many who are chefs. There have been concerts in Mauritius featuring Filipino and Malaysian artists in 2023 and there are several businesses that sell authentic Southeast Asian food in the country. Moreover, the increased interaction with non-resident ASEAN diplomatic missions mean that we can leverage on activities happening in their respective missions to promote cultural exchanges and cooperation.
6. Climate change and environmental sustainability are pressing global concerns. How will you collaborate with ASEAN to address environmental issues, given Mauritius’ unique geographical challenges and opportunities?
Mauritius’ geographical challenges and opportunities as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) are unique, but the United Nations also classifies one country in ASEAN as a SIDS – Singapore. As part of Singapore’s foreign policy, it is committed to assisting fellow SIDS through capacity building efforts and training programmes which cover diverse topics such as sustainable development and climate change, public governance, and economic development. Singapore has been offering special technical assistance packages for SIDS since 1999 and is one promising area for collaboration between ASEAN and Mauritius.
7. Education and capacity building are crucial for national development. Could you share your vision for educational partnerships and knowledge sharing with ASEAN nations?
Historically, Mauritians pursue higher education in the United Kingdom or France, but over the last decade or so, there have been more people going to study in ASEAN countries, especially Malaysia and to a lesser extent Singapore. Educational diplomacy is very important as this not only promotes cultural exchange and understanding but helps in capacity building as well as developing a global mindset which is crucial in this highly connected world. Additionally, universities from ASEAN can also consider opening international campuses in Mauritius like how universities from other countries have done.
8. As the founder of the ASEAN Community in Mauritius, how do you plan to engage with ASEAN’s regional organisations and initiatives to promote shared goals and values?
The non-resident ASEAN diplomatic coverage of Mauritius is quite dispersed, with Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand covering it from South Africa, Indonesia from Madagascar, Malaysia from Zimbabwe, Singapore from Singapore and Vietnam from Mozambique. It is thus important that we engage these diplomatic missions regularly to keep Mauritius top of mind so that we can promote shared goals and values and serve as a community that not only helps the ASEAN diaspora thrive, but also for the host country to understand and learn more about ASEAN.
9. Mauritius is known for its diplomatic presence on the international stage. How do you plan to represent both Mauritius and ASEAN’s interests in global forums and discussions?
The interests of Mauritius and ASEAN do not necessarily compete, but rather complement each other. ASEAN can leverage the wide range of treaties Mauritius has in Africa to explore using Mauritius as a hub in the region while Mauritius can use ASEAN to access countries in Southeast Asia as well as the wider region. The key is for both sides to increase collaboration and deepen its existing relationship.
10. Lastly, can you highlight some of the key diplomatic achievements and milestones you aim to accomplish during your tenure here in fostering stronger ties with ASEAN member countries?
One of our first achievements was to form an ASEAN community and allow for people-to-people exchange, we then created history by celebrating ASEAN Day in Mauritius for the very first time in August 2023, attended by ASEAN diplomats based in the Indian Ocean Region. Going forward, the main aim is to get non-resident ASEAN diplomats covering Mauritius to take a bigger interest in the country so that a renewed focus on ASEAN diplomatic and economic presence in Mauritius can be achieved and vice versa. This development will ultimately be beneficial not only for Mauritius, but also for all ASEAN Member States.
