Monaco and the Republic of Mauritius have established diplomatic relations, bringing together two small states whose international standing is closely tied to the ocean. The relationship was formalised on August 25 by a joint communique signed at the United Nations headquarters in New York by their permanent representatives, Isabelle Picco for Monaco and Milan Meetarbhan for Mauritius.
Mauritius may be a small island, but it controls a vast maritime territory: its exclusive economic zone covers around 2.3 million square kilometres, more than 500 times its land area and the 20th largest in the world. The country has placed a blue economy built on fisheries, marine biotechnology, aquaculture and sustainable tourism at the centre of its development, a priority Monaco has long shared and one that ran through the two states' first exchanges.
After the signing, Picco and Meetarbhan discussed several areas of shared interest, including environmental protection, sustainable tourism and education, and agreed to pursue closer cooperation. Mauritius becomes one of more than 160 countries with which Monaco has established diplomatic relations, many of them island and coastal states with which the principality has built ties through its environmental diplomacy, a cause closely associated with Prince Albert II.
The pattern is a familiar one. When Monaco established relations with the Federated States of Micronesia last year, the two sides likewise turned their exchanges toward the ocean, discussing coral reefs and the protection of the high seas.