What orientations for Mauritius? Competitiveness Foresight “ Two roads diverged in a wood and I-- I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference”, Robert Frost

DRIVERS

NIS QUESTIONS Have we reached the limits of our production possibilities? What type of innovation is required to take us on a high-growth path? Do we have enough competencies to identify the new sources of growth? Do we have enough resources to support new sources of growth? How do we make Mauritius more attractive to the outside world in the new environment? What are we willing to trade-off to have higher growth?

COMPETITIVENESS FORESIGHT 1.What is foresight? SCENARIO BUILDING PARTICIPANTS Public sector – 17 Private sector – 27 NESC stakeholders – 12 International organizations – 4

KEY CHALLENGE With Mauritius’ future as a sugar producer looking bleak, powerful competitive pressures being placed on textiles and garments exports, OECD placing limits on financial sector competition, and finite limits on high value tourism, what should the island’s strategy for growth and development be for the next 10 years and beyond?

Employment Trends

Mauritius Trade Preference Schemes EU Cotonou Agreement (formerly the LOME Convention) US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)- Wearing and Apparel Provision

REGIONAL TRADE

1.What orientations for Mauritius?

Table 5: GDP per capita under different scenarii of economic growth Average Annual Growth rate (%) Year where 2003 GDP per capita doubles (Population growth of 1% per annum)

1. SOCIO-POLITICAL CONSTRAINTS 2. ABSENCE OF AN INTEGRATED STRATEGY 3. INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY 4. LACK OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP 5. ATTITUDE/ MINDSET TOWARDS OPENNESS 6. CHANGING MENTAL MODELS 7. HUMAN RESOURCES 8. MARKETING 9. LEADERSHIP 10. FOREIGN POLICY 11. GLOBAL / REGIONAL INTEGRATION CONSTRAINTS

Challenges of Openness I What internal stresses and strains will such a change in orientation create? How will they be handled?

Challenges of Openness II A painful transition What will that transition entail?

Challenges of Openness II How will it be financed? How will domestic dislocations be taken care of? How will political support be garnered? How will the Mauritian electorate be taken on board so that there is as near universal a societal consensus as possible that this change is necessary and positive (i.e. to be embraced rather than resisted)?

Challenges of Openness III What future will Mauritius face if this transition to openness is not made -- i.e. what are the costs of inaction?

WAY FORWARD Practising openness which is reciprocal, non-selective, symmetrical Creating the best operating platform Developing a world-class regulatory capacity to ensure that competition is level and completely clean.

WAY FORWARD multidisciplinary technical teams:  examine fully the consequences and work out the implications for opening up in terms of essential changes in policy and the administration of policy as far as the following are concerned: i.e. fiscal policy, monetary policy, exchange rate policy, immigration policy, urban development policy and FDI entry/exit policy, changes in government behaviour and business behaviour

WAY FORWARD outline a marketing strategy for selling brand Mauritius to the world as the best platform on which to undertake globally orientated ICT/BPO business, and to work out a roadmap for managing "the transition”.

OBJECTIVES To build socio-political consensus on the direction To elaborate an integrated strategy To create an attractive investment climate To enhance institutional capacity in both public and private sectors To promote a culture of entrepreneurship To nurture an open mindset

OBJECTIVES To attract high skilled manpower To review the marketing strategy and branding of Mauritius To develop competent leadership at all levels with emphasis on governance and meritocracy To gear foreign policy towards achievement of the above objectives