French President Nicholas Sarkozy says France is ready to reopen discussions on the "co-gestion" of Tromelin island.
"Je ne veux pas qu'il y ait de contentieux entre la France et Maurice", he told Prime minister Dr Navin Ramgoolam, who was on official mission to France and the UK from 8 to 14 June 2008.
Dr Ramgoolam pointed out that the proposal for "co-gestion" should not unduly delay the resolution of the sovereignty issue. Mr Sarkozy suggested that the proposal be put forward to the Committee of Experts.
The French President assured the Prime Minister of his support and that of his country to Mauritius in its reform process. He agreed to send a team comprising Forensic Specialists and a member of "
Police Judiciaire" to train local Police Officers, to provide equipment to the Police Force and, especially, to look into unsolved criminal cases.
The Prime Minister raised a number of other issues, including the development and expansion of infrastructure to make the harbour of Port Louis a hub in the Western Indian Ocean region, the extension of the SSR International Airport, and the implementation of the
"Maurice Ile Durable" project spearheaded by Mr Joël de Rosnay, French Expert of Mauritian origin, to make Mauritius less dependent on fossil fuel.
Dr Ramgoolam thanked President Sarkozy for the overall support provided by France at the European Commission and at bilateral levels and has invited him to attend the Commemoration Ceremony of the bicentenary of the Battle of Vieux Grand Port in 2010.
Other items on the Prime Minister's agenda in France included a breakfast meeting at the seat of the MEDEF and a visit to the "
Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie". He also participated in the launching of the "
Maurice Ile Durable Project.'
Three agreements were signed in France, relating to technical and operational cooperation in the field of security between France and Mauritius, the extension of SSR International Airport, and the supply of 130,000 tonnes of wheat annually to
Les Moulins de la Concorde.
In Paris, the Prime Minister also received the
Prix Louise Michel, awarded generally each year to a high personality in recognition of his or her outstanding contribution in the political field.
In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister attended a meeting of a representative group of Commonwealth Heads of State/Government to identify the underlying principles and actions to achieve reform of international institutions, like the World Bank and the IMF.
At the meeting chaired by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Dr Ramgoolam highlighted problems faced by the Small Island States, particularly countries, like Mauritius, which are no longer eligible to concessionary loans from the IMF, due to their economic success.
In the margins of the Meeting, the Prime Minister met Mr Brown, the with whom he discussed the Chagos issue, especially in view of the Appeal case entered by the UK Government before the House of Lords regarding the proposal for the resettlement of the Chagossians on two of the islands forming part of the Chagos Archipelago, and the recent acknowledgement of rendition and torture perpetrated in Diego Garcia in breach of International Human Rights Instruments, including the European Convention of Human Rights.
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