EU financial services outfits will soon have unfettered access to two of Africa’s main offshore financial centres under a new trade agreement announced on Wednesday (10 June).
EU Commission officials have concluded talks with Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles – known as the ESA4 – to upgrade a pre-existing economic partnership agreement.
In a statement, the commission said that the new agreement would match free trade in goods with “reciprocal preferential market access” for services and investment, digital trade, public procurement, and competition policy.
Although trade with the four African island states is relatively modest at a combined €9.7bn in 2024, Mauritius and Seychelles have two of the continent’s largest offshore financial services sectors.
The deal would make it “easier and more predictable for EU firms to supply services in the ESA States, including in sectors such as professional and business services, maritime transport, telecommunication, and financial services,” said the commission.
