A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Economic Development Board and the Australia Africa Chamber of Commerce has been agreed upon by the Cabinet on August 28, centering on the exchange of information on trade and investment policies, rules, regulations, and opportunities as well as business data between Australia and Mauritius, to boost its accessibility to businesses and investors.
The agreement aims to set up a practical framework for cooperation in relation to investment and trade promotion; strengthen institutional relations and capacity building through cooperation; and ensure a coherent approach to identify areas of comparative advantages, competence and complementarity between both nations.
The Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Navin Ramgoolam also took note of the implementation status of the ‘Déclaration d’Intention Relative à une Coopération en matière de Préservation du Patrimoine Architectural Mauricien’ inked between Mauritius and France, Fondation Mansart, Business Mauritius and SOS Patrimoine en Péril “Save our Heritage”, in April 2025. The cooperating, funded by the French Government aims to strengthen the preservation and valorisation of local architectural heritage aiming to provide: The possible establishment of a dedicated public-private governance structure to oversee the rehabilitation, management and enhancement of heritage sites; the review and development of a regulatory and fiscal incentive framework to encourage investment in heritage preservation; the mobilisation of French legal, institutional and technical expertise to reform the National Heritage Fund.
A Digital Service Framework is also on the anvil, seeking to ensure that all digital services developed, procured and maintained by ministries and Government departments are compliant with a set of principles and standards. The Digital Service Framework seeks to establish a comprehensive framework comprising guiding principles, policies, standards and implementation requirements applicable throughout the lifecycle of every Government digital service. It will provide a common approach covering project planning, enterprise architecture, solution design, service delivery, security, interoperability, accessibility, user experience, operations, monitoring and continuous improvement. The Framework will be applicable to all e-Government initiatives.
Cabinet also took note that Mauritius has been selected as a pilot country by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to participate in a needs assessment exercise for the implementation of the WTO Electronic Commerce Agreement. The agreement aims to enhance opportunities for cross-border electronic commerce for countries by providing a predictable and transparent regulatory framework that will enable businesses to participate more effectively in international digital markets.
Cabinet also agreed to financial assistance being extended to team CSE Velocity from Collège du St Esprit, who won the national finals of the 2025 STEM Racing Mauritius Competition, to enable their participation in the Aramco STEM Racing World Finals 2026 in October 2026, in Singapore.
The outcome of the recent participation of the Minister of Tertiary Education, Science and Research in the Global Smart Education Conference 2026, co-organised by the Beijing Normal University and the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education in the People’s Republic of China on the theme “Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development in Education” has also been noted. The Minister shared the experience and perspective of Mauritius on the integration of AI and digital technologies in higher education and research during a Keynote Address at the opening ceremony of the conference on “Artificial Intelligence and Sustainable Development of Education” and two dedicated sessions, namely on “AI in Higher Education: From Disruption to Transformation” and on “Smart Villages and Education for Rural Transformation”.
