Mauritian-Portuguese relations

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Mauritian-Portuguese relations
Location of Portugal and Mauritius
PortugalPortugal MauritiusMauritius
Portugal Mauritius

The Mauritian-Portuguese relations describe the intergovernmental relationship between Mauritius ( port. : Maurícias ) and Portugal . The countries have had direct diplomatic relations since 1976.

The relationships are considered to be good, but only comparatively weak. The most important points of reference today are the growing trade exchange and the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries co-founded by Portugal in 1996 , Mauritius has had observer status there since 2006. The Portuguese presence is historically significant after the arrival of the Portuguese sailors around 1507, who discovered the island on their sea ​​route to India and continued to use it.

In 2018, 33 Mauritian citizens were registered in Portugal, most of them in the Lisbon district (19) and in the Algarve (6). No Portuguese citizens were registered in Mauritius in 2017.

history

Map of the Mascarene Islands from 1680: Mauritius was also discovered by Portuguese sailors as the first Europeans, in 1507

The Portuguese navigator Diogo Fernandes Pereira discovered Mauritius as the first European in 1507. Mauritius belongs to the Mascarene archipelago , named after the Portuguese Pedro Mascarenhas , who took possession of the archipelago for Portugal from 1512. Mauritius did not become part of the Portuguese colonial empire , however, and the Portuguese seafarers only used the island as a base and stopover. In 1598 the Netherlands took possession of Mauritius, and the Portuguese rarely called at Mauritius.

From 1710 Mauritius became French, from 1810 British. Mauritius became independent in 1968. Initially, no special relations developed with Portugal. The Portuguese colonial war was present with the outbreak in Mozambique in 1964 and in South-East Africa and ended only after the leftist Carnation Revolution in Portugal 1974th

The new, now democratic Portugal then realigned its foreign policy. On December 12, 1976, Mauritius and Portugal officially entered into diplomatic relations.

Relations between the two countries remained good afterwards, although they only slowly approached due to the few common points of contact. On January 3, 1999, a bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement came into force.

In 1996, seven Portuguese-speaking countries created the Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries (CPLP). Thereafter, the CPLP and Mauritius converged on island history, and Mauritius became the first non-Portuguese speaking country to receive observer status in the Community in 1996. Since then, bilateral trade with Portugal has also increased steadily.

The Portuguese Embassy in Mozambique : Mauritius is part of their administrative district

diplomacy

Mauritius does not have its own representation in Portugal; the country is looked after by the Mauritian embassy in Paris . There are also no Mauritian consulates in Portugal.

Portugal also does not have its own embassy in Mauritius, the country belongs to the administrative district of the Portuguese embassy in the Mozambican capital Maputo . A Portuguese honorary consulate has been set up in the Mauritian capital Port Louis .

economy

Vegetable growing in Alfouvar near Sintra : processed vegetables and fruits are the main export products of Portugal to Mauritius, from where mainly processed fish and sugar go to Portugal

The Mauritian-Portuguese trade volume in 2016 was EUR 16.985 million ( 2015 : 10.124 million, 2014 : 6.957 million, 2013 : 6.752 million, 2012 : 6.063 million), with a trade surplus of EUR 7.987 million in favor of Mauritius '( 2015 : 2.112 million, 2013 : 1.376 million). 97 Portuguese companies were trading with Mauritius in 2016. The Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP does not have a branch in Mauritius, the AICEP office in the Mozambican capital Maputo is responsible .

In 2016, Portugal exported goods worth EUR 4.499 million to Mauritius ( 2015 : 4.006 million; 2014 : 3.988 million; 2013 : 2.688 million; 2012 : 1.910 million), 37.2% of which was food (mainly Canned vegetables and fruit), 13.0% metal goods, 10.9% machines and devices, 6.7% plastics and rubber, and 6.1% textiles.

During the same period, Mauritius delivered goods worth 12.486 million euros to Portugal ( 2015 : 6.118 million; 2014 : 2.969 million; 2013 : 4.064 million; 2012 : 4.153 million), 91.1% of which was food (mainly Canned fish), 4.4% clothing, 4.0% agricultural products (especially sugar) and 0.3% metal goods.

In 2016, Mauritius ranked 123rd as a buyer and 89th as a supplier for Portuguese foreign trade; in 2016, Portugal ranked 20th as a buyer and 40th as a supplier in Mauritian foreign trade.

Web links

Commons : Mauritian-Portuguese Relations  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Overview of diplomatic relations with Mauritius at the diplomatic institute in the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs , accessed on 7 September 2019
  2. ↑ Official Portuguese Aliens Statistics by District , Portuguese Aliens and Borders Authority SEF, accessed on September 1, 2019
  3. ↑ Website on Mauritian-Portuguese migration at the Portuguese Scientific Observatório da Emigração , accessed on September 1, 2019
  4. ↑ a b c d e Bilateral economic relations between Portugal and Mauritius ( Maurícias ) , Excel file retrieval from the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce AICEP, accessed on September 7, 2019
  5. ↑ Overview of the Portuguese contact points in Mauritius on the website of the Portuguese Foreign Ministry for Portuguese communities abroad, accessed on 7 September 2019