His Excellency President Dharambeer Gokhool, G.C.S.K., received Her Excellency Mrs Lot Debruyne, the new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of Belgium to Mauritius, who presented her Letter of Credence at the State House this morning.
Ambassador Debruyne is based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. She was accompanied by Mr Arnaud Lagesse, Honorary Consul of Belgium in Mauritius, and Mr Pierre Bertels, Consul of the Embassy of Belgium.
During the meeting, the longstanding, cordial bilateral relations between Mauritius and Belgium, formally established in 1968, were reviewed, with emphasis on multilateralism and regional cooperation.
The discussions also covered existing cooperation in key sectors, including trade and investment, tourism, and opportunities to strengthen people-to-people ties.
Customs cooperation, including mutual administrative assistance, as well as air connectivity, were also discussed.
New avenues for cooperation were explored in education, including student exchanges, higher education and research, as well as renewable energy, climate change, artificial intelligence and the blue economy.
Belgium’s expertise in offshore wind energy was also identified as a potential area for knowledge-sharing and cooperation.