JEDDAH, 6 February 2004 — Mauritius plans to open a permanent diplomatic mission in Jeddah, the country’s Vice President Raouf Bundhun said here yesterday. However, there are no plans to open an embassy in Riyadh as yet. He also disclosed that a top-level Mauritian business delegation will arrive in the Kingdom shortly.
The tiny Indian Ocean island with a population of 1.2 million has an honorary consul, Walid Al-Nowaiser, in Jeddah. “The Mauritius Embassy in Cairo has been looking after the country’s interests in the Kingdom. We’re now considering our strong diplomatic presence here,” he said.
This would be to look after the interest of Mauritian expatriates as well as catering to those wanting vacation visas to the island. Mauritius has a significant Muslim minority.
Bundhun, who was here to perform Haj with his wife and two children, said 2,000 pilgrims from his country performed the annual pilgrimage. None had been involved in Sunday’s Mina tragedy.
“The stampede was caused mainly due to the lack of discipline and organization among pilgrims. The Kingdom had made tremendous efforts in providing logistics for the guests of God,” he said, adding that he had conveyed a goodwill message to the Kingdom.
Mauritius supports the Kingdom’s anti-terror efforts, he said. “We’ve had no problem with terrorism, especially since the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States,” said Bundhun.
He said there was no truth in reports that Mauritius had become a money-laundering center for terrorists. “We are a democracy and an open society. The pillars of our economic growth are sugar, manufacturing industries, tourism, a free port, financial services and a cyber city,” he said.
Mauritius is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Hindus account for 52 percent of the population, Christians 28 percent and Muslims 20 percent.
“We’re able to maintain unity and integrity among all of our ethnic groups because of our high rate of literacy — over 90 percent,” commented Mauritian Inayat Ramjean, director of sales and marketing of Accor Group for the Kingdom, who is a long-time Jeddah resident.
“To maintain its exclusivity as one of the leading tourist resorts of the world, the country’s national tourism policy emphasizes low impact, high spending tourism,” the long time resident of Jeddah said.
