In a press release, made available to PANA Monday, the Foreign Affairs and International Trade Ministry said the relevance of having an FTA between Mauritius and Turkey was guided by the policy in response to the trade regime of the European Union.
"On the one hand, Turkey is bound by the Customs Union Agreement with the EU and has therefore, has the obligation to align itself progressively to the preferential customs regimes of the EU towards the ACP countries, including Mauritius.
"On the other, Mauritius has recently signed an Interim Economic Partnership Agreement with the EU, which contains a 'Turkey clause' setting the context for preferential trade negotiations between Mauritius and Turkey," it said.
An official of the ministry said in the previous rounds, discussions focussed on the framework that would guide the free trade agreement and the concessions to be granted by both countries.
So far, it has been agreed that the EPA would be used as basis for negotiations.
"Upon conclusion of the negotiations, Turkey expects to grant duty free access to Mauritius on all industrial products," he said.
Port-Louis - Pana 09/02/2010
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