Hopeful of achieving some fine-tuning of DTAA soon: Mauritius minister

Mauritius minister Jyoti Jeetun says fine-tuning of tax treaty with India is underway, stressing partnership in Africa and scope for local currency trade

Discussions for fine-tuning the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) are on and some critical changes are likely to be finalised soon, Mauritius Minister of Financial Services & Economic Planning, Jyoti Jeetun, said in a one-on-one conversation with Ruchika Chitravanshi in New Delhi. The minister said that Indian businesses are resilient and would come out of the US tariff setback, while stressing how Mauritius can be a bridge to expanding markets in Africa.

 

After changes to the DTAA, share of FDI and FPI from Mauritius has come down. Do you see DTAA impacting it and would you interact with India to change the clauses? 

 

For over 30 years, we were the largest FDI driver to India. Since the DTAA was amended in 2016, Singapore is first, the US is second, and we are consistently third for a number of years now. It is what it is. There has been a critical changing of clauses which have not been ratified yet. We are still discussing it. I am very hopeful that some fine tuning will happen, and it will be finalised very soon. What I also say to my people back home is that India is growing as an economy. It's predicted to be the third largest economy in the years to come. So as the pie is getting bigger, we must try our best to get a fair share of it. So it is up to us now to work, not just based on the DTAA, but also find other areas where we can grow our partnership with India.

 

Are there any issues that investors have flagged that India must address? 

 

There is really a spirit of understanding, cooperation and collaboration. I always tell my team: put yourself on the other side of the table. Don't try to get everything for yourself. In a trade relationship and a commercial economic partnership, it is important that both parties understand the challenges and constraints of the other.

   

Mauritius was supposed to be the gateway to other countries for India to export its goods. Are Indian companies setting up shop in your nation? 

 

Mauritius has an incredible opportunity in the sense that we have historical links with India. We are also a member of the African Union. So we find ourselves with this very special relationship with India to be able to be the bridge or the gateway to investment in Africa. We are really seeing that happening. One of the key points of the Africa strategy is how we can be a bridge from India to Africa.

   

With the US imposing a 50 per cent tariff on India, how can India use Mauritius to shift this trade to African countries? 

 

The world has become a very unpredictable place, but then at the same time, countries and businesses have to adapt to change. Some of these are very major and can have a very harsh impact on our businesses. Countries are resilient. The people and businesses of this country are resilient, and with their entrepreneurial mind they will come up and out of this setback and find ways and means of expanding markets elsewhere. Mauritius can potentially be a very interesting bridge to expanding markets in Africa.

   

Do you see further scope for expansion for Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA). How is India and Mauritius progressing in terms of trade? 

 

We will work to grow in trade, in services. There are some clarifications and fine tuning happening there. and I understand that's going to be finalised very soon as well. That should also then promote trade in services between our countries.

 

How has the GIFT city boosted cooperation between the two countries in financial services? 

 

There is an MoU being put in place between the Financial Services Commission (FSC) and Gift city. I always say don't look at other jurisdictions as competition, see how we can work together. Because businesses are growing everywhere in the world, the private sector is developing everywhere, so, the pie is getting bigger.

   

India and Mauritius were in talks to do trade in local currency. What has been the progress so far? 

 

It is being worked out, this year only. It would be a game changer, because it, sort of, de-dollarises our economy. We import most of our stuff and mostly pay in US dollars. So being able to import and pay in our local currency would be a game changer. It starts a process of countries being less dependent on the dollars. Just imagine if we could import fuel from India and pay in Indian currency. It would definitely be a game changer.