On 11 May in Port-Louis, Mauritius, HKIAC organised a seminar to bring together leaders from the business and legal worlds to discuss the many opportunities created by Chinese investment in Africa. The seminar included a keynote address by China’s Ambassador to Mauritius Mr. Li Li as well as a panel discussion between Dr. Rama Sithanen, former Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister of Mauritius, Mr. Raju Jaddoo Secretary General of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs. Teresa Cheng, Chairperson of HKIAC and Mr. Neil Kaplan, Honorary Chairman of HKIAC.
The discussion identified many areas of potential cooperation and collaboration between Hong Kong and Mauritius in helping to build stronger ties between Africa and China.
Against this backdrop, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre (HKIAC) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) on May 12.
Raju Jaddoo, Secretary-General of the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) commented that, “cooperation between arbitration centers is crucial and can bring immense value-addition to the process of developing ADR best practices across the world.” Jaddoo added that the Cooperation Agreement between MARC and HKIAC is expected to foster collaboration between the two centers so that both centers can better maximize the utilization of their resources through mutual cooperation and sharing of expertise as well as efforts in education, training and promotion in the field of ADR.
Teresa Cheng SC, Chairperson of HKIAC stated that, “HKIAC is very committed to developing links with other arbitral institutions around the world and strongly believes that ties with the Mauritius Chamber of Commerce and Industry offer the arbitral community an excellent way of building a long lasting bridge between Asia and Africa.”
Strengthening its dialogue on Africa, the HKIAC hosted a seminar entitled, “Africa’s Silk Road – How to Reap the Benefits of the Bright Continent” on June 21st. The engaging panel discussion covered untapped investment opportunities and legal protection in Africa. The breakfast session was the perfect opportunity for business people to mingle and network with arbitration practitioners.