?NOW it?s follow-up time,? the prime minister, Paul Bérenger, declared after his four-day mission to Madagascar. The Malagasy and Mauritian governments have signed three agreements to set up a legal frame work for cooperation between the two islands. Both leaders said they are fully satisfied with the results of the mission and seem convinced that these agreements will take shape in the near future.

The Mauritian delegation, led by the prime minister, comprised six ministers: Anil Gayan for tourism, Sushil Khushiram for economic development, Jayen Cuttaree for foreign affairs, Nando Bodha for agriculture, Pradeep Jeeha for ICT and Motee Ramdass, for arts and culture as well as private sector representatives. The aim of this important mission was to study the partnership opportunities between the two countries for concrete cooperation in the near future.

Madagascar and Mauritius seem to be complementary. The goal is to share their strengths to make both countries more powerful at regional and international levels. Mauritius has the know-how in various sectors such as tourism, agriculture and textiles. Madagascar would like to develop these fields but does not have the necessary expertise. However, it has the natural and human resources necessary for development. ?We want to work together like real partners,? the prime minister declared.

At the end of the mission, the three main agreements signed concern a general framework agreement for cooperation, one for promotion and reciprocal investment protection and one for technical cooperation in tourism. Paul Bérenger would like to help Madagascar become the regional breadbasket.

The agreements should allow regional cooperation in a legal framework to favour trade exchanges. Actually, the Mauritian PM made it clear that these agreements have nothing really new about them, but this may help reassure both countries into a more confident partnership. The general agreement will allow ?protecting both countries while helping them to promote their development together,? declared Malagasy PM, Jacques Sylla.

Both PMs have their hearts set on a fourth possible cultural agreement. Paul Bérenger pointed out: ?The cultural agreement represents a lot for us and it would help to bring the two nations together.? But he added that culture involves so many aspects that it may take some time to review each one before setting up the agreement. It might thus not take shape in the very near future but both governments are extremely keen on it.

Tourist projects were also brought up during this mission. The Mauritian PM visited Ste- Marie island to study the possibility of having a tourist complex there. The Malagasy authorities submitted the proposal to the Mauritians some years ago now. As the private sector was also in Madagascar this may have paved the way to a concrete proposal. Moreover, the partnership between Air Madagascar and Air Mauritius has revived after a few difficult years. The number of flights has gone from eight to ten each week.

Agriculture is also a field that may see a strong partnership between the two countries. Importing potatoes from Madagascar might well be the start of this new cooperation. 200 tons of potatoes will be exported to Mauritius as a test by both countries for future exchanges of fruits and vegetables. It is thus essential that this first import be successful as it is a strong symbol of the budding partnership. It will also pinpoint the problems that both countries could face in order to solve them as quickly as possible.

Cooperation seems to be on its way between the two islands. However, Madagascar has some disadvantages that Mauritius cannot ignore. The private sector has expressed its reservations about certain aspects of Madagascar. After the political and economic crisis, they are still wondering if it is now totally safe to invest and set up factories there. They may wish to have guarantees on the safety of their investments.

Besides, bottlenecks have often worried and discouraged Mauritian investors. PM Bérenger has officially asked his Malagasy counterpart to find solutions to reduce administrative hurdles. Moreover, corruption and lack of skilled labour are problems that Madagascar has to face, which may deter Mauritian investors.

However, it seems that the Mauritian PM has confidence in Madagascar. Although he is conscious that there are a number of drawbacks, he believes such a partnership could be positive for both islands. Concrete actions and measures have to follow signed agreements to create a real partnership.