Hon. Minister for Multi Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry paid courtesy visit to President of the Republic of Mauritius

30 May 2023

Hon. Minister for Multi Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry paid courtesy visit to President of the Republic of Mauritius

The Hon. Minister for Multi Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry; Mr. Charan Jeath Singh together with the Fiji delegation, paid a courtesy visit to the President of the Republic of Mauritius, H.E Mr. Prithvirajsing Roopun, at the State House in Réduit, Mauritius.  

In this meeting, Hon. Charan Singh conveyed warm greetings of the President and Prime Minister of Fiji to H. E. President Roopun and thanked him for his time. Minister Singh relayed many similarities between the two countries that share historical traditions and cultures from the Girmit era. Discussions were revolved around reviving sugar industry where challenges were common between the two countries.

Hon. Charan Singh highlighted that Fiji is keen to learn from the experience & success of Mauritius sugar industry, especially in areas of power co-generation, ethanol production and production of refined sugar. Pressing issues affecting the sugar industry such as Climate Change & its impact, shortage of labour, ageing growers & lack of interest to cane farming by youths were some of the topics discussed in this meeting.

The President of Republic of Mauritius, H.E. Mr. Roopun commended Fiji’s lead in advocating the impacts of Climate Change in the region. The President emphasised that small state developing countries, such as Fiji and Mauritius need to work together with other developing states to fight out on carbon emissions and larger emitters.

Minister Singh extended an invitation on behalf of the President to President Roopan to visit Fiji in the near future.

After his meeting with President Roopun, Hon. Singh also met the Minister of Arts and Cultural Heritage, Mr Avinash Teeluck, in Port-Louis, Mauritius. The meeting surrounded matters on Indentured Labour Route project, promotion of Bhojpuri and Hindi language, and the preservation of cultural and heritage sites. Mauritius and Fiji have common beliefs and traditions, and share many similarities in terms of their history and cultural heritage.

The program of this visit to Mauritius also includes courtesy calls to the offices of; Hon. Prime Minister of Mauritius, Minister of Agro-Industry & Food Security, Minister for Transport, Light rail, Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration & International Trade. Hon. Singh will also make site visits to sugar industry institutions, sugar refineries & distilleries in Mauritius. 

Minister Singh is visiting Mauritius en route to Eswatini to attend the 62^nd International Sugar Organization (ISO) workshop & Council Meeting convening from 5^th to 9^th June 2023.

The other Fiji delegates to the 62^nd ISO workshop & Council Meeting include Permanent Secretary for Multi Ethnic Affairs & Sugar Industry; Mr. Yogesh J. Karan, Chief Executive Officer of Sugar Cane Growers Council (SCGC); Mr. Vimal Dutt, and Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC); Mr. Bhan Singh.