1. Cabinet has taken note of the resounding success of the UN International Meeting on Small Islands Developing States which was held at the Swami Vivekananda Convention Centre from 10 to 14 January 2005 and has conveyed its appreciation to all those involved in the organization of the Meeting in particular to the Minister of Environment and National Development Unit, our UN representative in New York, the Chief Executive of the State Investment Corporation Ltd and the chairperson of the National Organising Committee for the excellent job done.
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2. Cabinet has taken note that as at 13 January 2005, MACOSS has collected a sum of about Rs 2.3M in favour of the 26 December 2004 tsunami victims and a first cheque of Rs 1M had been remitted to Mrs A. Smelder, the United Nations Resident Coordinator.
Cabinet has further taken note that the Prime Minister will be present at the gathering organized by the Mauritius Tsunami Fund Committee put up by various socio-cultural groups to coordinate actions in favour of victims of the tsunami, which will be held on Thursday 20 January at 1500 hours at the Champ de Mars.
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3. Cabinet has reviewed the situation regarding the proposed visit of Chagossians to certain Islands of the Chagos Archipelago. Following the statement made in the Press to the effect that Government has not allowed the Mauritius Shipping Corporation Ltd. to put a vessel at the disposal of the Chagossians, Cabinet has taken note that the Mauritius Shipping Corporation Ltd. had been requested to cancel arrangements being made without Government being aware, with the British Authorities for the conveyance of the Chagossians as this could have jeopardized legal action being initiated at the International Court of Justice with regard to the exercise of our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago.
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4. Cabinet has reviewed developments with regard to candidatures to the post of Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and has taken note that there were positive indications that the efforts made to prevent a North/South confrontation would be successful. Further, support received to date in favour of Hon J. Cuttaree has been very positive and encouraging.
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5. Cabinet has reviewed the list of priority Bills that will be introduced at the next session of the National Assembly among which, the Maritime Zone Bill, the MBC (Amendment) Bill, the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill to provide for the presence of the international election observers on the occasion of our election in Mauritius, the Cooperatives Bill and the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Bill.
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6. Cabinet has reviewed developments on the sugar panel and issues related to the Appeal by the EU and has taken note that the input of Mauritius has been incorporated in the draft ACP submission.
Cabinet has further taken note of the strong plea made by EU Commissioner for Trade, Mr Peter Mandelson in favour of ACP countries.
Cabinet has also taken note that the Prime Minister had met Mr Louis Michel, the EU Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Affairs and that the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Economic Development and the Minister of Agriculture, Food Technology and Natural Resources would meet the Commissioner today 15 January 2005, as part of a confidence building exercise.
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7. Cabinet has agreed to the introduction of a single new user friendly disembarkation/embarkation card which fulfills the requirements of Immigration, Health, Agricultural and Customs Authorities. Cabinet has also agreed to an improved customer service to facilitate and expedite the clearance of incoming passengers.
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8. Cabinet has agreed to Mauritius signing a bilateral agreement with the People’s Republic of China setting down conditions for recruitment of Chinese workers. The agreement will ensure that recruitment is carried through agents, approved by the Chinese Authorities and that the Chinese workers are given correct information concerning their conditions of employment.
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9. Cabinet has agreed to the taking over of the functions of the Textile Emergency Support Team (TEST) by Enterprise Mauritius, a public company, set up specifically to provide smooth and responsive services to Mauritian enterprises within an integrated framework to enhance their development and competitiveness.
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10. Cabinet has taken note of the participation of the Central Statistics Office (CSO) along with 50 African Countries in the 2005 round of the International Comparison Programme (ICP) - Africa coordinated by the African Development Bank jointly with the World Bank and which will span over a period of three years from 2005 to 2007. The main objective of the ICP is to conduct price surveys and to provide economic data for regional comparison.
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11. Cabinet has taken note of the outcome of the mission of the Minister of Labour, Industrial Relations and Employment to France from 21 to 23 December 2004 where he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Employment, Labour and social cohesion of France with a view to promoting cooperation in the fields of occupational safety and health and employment as well as strengthening social cohesion.
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