Vanilla islands and the possibility of regional economic integration

INTRODUCTION-

These Vanilla Island nations are located in and near the Mozambique channel, making them an important strategic position for commerce with African countries. These islands are strategically crucial because they are located on critical Sea Lines of Communication (SLOCs) that connect Africa and the Southern Oceans to West Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, and East Asia. Because of their location in the Sea Lines of Communications between Europe and the Indian Ocean through the Cape of Good Hope, these islands are the first feasible stop for warships looking for an early replenishment and R&R stop for their personnel. This feature also suggests that these islands might be used as power projection locations in the Indian Ocean Region. For countries like India, China and Japan, these island nations have now become too much important. Given the extensive exclusive economic zones (EEZ) to which they are entitled by the UNCLOS, several of these island governments are increasingly referring to themselves as large "Ocean States".

VANILLA ISLANDS AND THEIR ECONOMIES -

We will now briefly discuss the economy of each of these Vanilla Island nations.

COMOROS- The economic sector of Comoros essentially includes agriculture, which includes fishing, hunting, and forestry. It accounts for almost 40% of GDP, employs 80% of the workforce, and generates the majority of the exports. However, the country does not produce enough food to feed itself. Rice which is the main staple, accounts for the majority of the imports. [1] Though recently, the government has been aiming to increase education and technical training, privatize commercial and industrial businesses, improve health services, diversify exports, encourage tourism, and slow down the country's rapid population growth.

MAYOTTE- Mayotte's economy is dependent mainly on agriculture, which includes fishing and cattle farming. Mayotte’s economy is not self-sufficient and imports a significant amount of its food, primarily from Metropolitan France. The island's economy and future development are primarily reliant on French financial aid, which provides a significant boost to GDP. Mayotte's distant position on the geographical map also makes tourist development a bit difficult. The country's dependent economy and no scope for industrialization and development of the service sector leaves few options for economic growth. Additionally, there are also issues like unemployment and lack of infrastructure and skilled labour force. 

MAURITIUS- Mauritius' economy is a diversified emerging economy with agriculture, exports, financial services, and tourism as its mainstays. With strong private-sector development in sugar, tourism, economic processing zones, and financial services, notably in offshore firms, the economy is becoming increasingly diversified. The government is attempting to modernize the sugar and textile industries, which were overly reliant on trade preferences in the past, while also encouraging diversification into areas such as information and digital technology, financial and business services, seafood processing and exports, and free trade zones. Agriculture and industry have declined in importance, with services, particularly tourism, accounting for more than 72% of GDP. The government still owns and regulates utilities, as well as rice, wheat, petroleum products, and cement imports. [2]

SEYCHELLES- The economic sector of Seychelles includes fishing, tourism, coconut and vanilla processing, coir (coconut fibre) rope, boat construction, printing, furniture, and drinks. Cinnamon, sweet potatoes, cassava or tapioca, bananas, chicken, and tuna are examples of agricultural goods that are cultivated on this island. In terms of employment and gross income, the public sector, which includes the government and state-owned firms, dominates the economy, employing two-thirds of the working force. Over a third of the Seychelles' GDP is already consumed by the government.

REUNION- Agriculture and fishing have long been the backbones of Reunion's economy. One of the island's strengths is its tropical bio-economy, as well as ecotourism and digital information for energy conservation. Sugarcane has been the main crop for more than a century, accounting for almost 85% of exports in specific years. The government has been promoting the development of its tourism sector in order to alleviate the country's high unemployment rate, which now stands at over 40%. [3] Reunion Island benefits from a particular taxation scheme for locally manufactured traditional rum consumed in France, as well as the exemption or reduction of dock dues for locally created items. Recently, with the help of the European Union, this nation has been connectivity, energy efficiency and training of labour.

MADAGASCAR- Madagascar's primary business is agriculture. Around 80% of Malagasy people work in agriculture, and about 86% of them live in poverty. Furthermore, this island country is principally reliant on vanilla exports. [4] The African country produces the most vanilla in the world. This country neither has focused much on any other sector nor has been strengthened the existing one with aid and connectivity; hence, diversifying the economy and transitioning away from agriculture might help boost the economic development. Mining is another source of revenue for Madagascar's economy. Natural resources such as oil, gas, and ilmenite are found in Madagascar, but this sector has not been developed much. People of this island face the issues of unemployment and lack of basic amenities. 

INDIA'S RELATIONS- 

In recent years, India has begun to view the Vanilla Islands from a highly strategic and military standpoint, and the purpose of this essay is to illustrate the rising strategic relevance of these Island states and India in the international arena. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for example, picked Mauritius in 2015 to present his "Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)" vision. Furthermore, India and the vanilla nations have strong diplomatic connections. As part of the Maritime Domain Awareness Expansion Programme, this is visible.

India has been interested in focusing on the Vanilla Islands, particularly in terms of port development, blue economy, commerce, connectivity, tourism, skill development, hospitality, and healthcare. India has also been getting into partnerships with France as well as the European Union to collaborate with the island nations. Due to their strategic importance in the Indian Ocean region, India's strategic connections with these islands have grown significantly, especially with China attempting to expand its influence in the IOR. While India has long-standing defence connections with Mauritius and Seychelles, its Indo-Pacific outreach to preserve peace and stability is expanding and has included Comoros and Madagascar. Though India should continue putting the focus on these South-western islands, there should be development in economic and strategic bilateral aspects. India would also benefit if it focused on this bunch of islands as a whole. 

VANILLA ISLANDS AND THE IORA-

The five of the Vanilla Island nations, namely Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Reunion, are members of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). The IORA is a dynamic organization with 23 member states and nine dialogue partners. It focuses on regional maritime security and safety, tourism, blue economy, trade facilitation and so on. Mauritius has been a founding member of the IORA since 1997 along with Madagascar. Later, Seychelles joined the association in 2011, and Comoros joined the last in 2012. France had petitioned for the membership, claiming Reunion Island in the western Indian Ocean as an overseas possession and that it made France a Indian Ocean Rim state. At last, in 2020, France became a member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association. The IORA has been conducting workshops and conferences all over in these island nations regarding its priorities such as, Blue Economy, Fisheries Management, Disaster Risk Management and Women's Economic Empowerment. The IORA is dedicated to promote this region's long-term growth and balanced development and creating a common foundation for regional economic cooperation. [5]

ANALYSIS-

The development of tourism is the primary source of income for these six countries. According to one estimate, tourism makes for more than 40% of the total exports of goods and services of these Vanilla Islands. As international tourism is also expected to exceed 1.8 billion people by 2030, this is reflected in the increasing appeal of islands as tourist destinations across the world since they provide unique sightseeing and water sports opportunities. [6] Furthermore, tourism promotes the island nations' traditional cultures and natural treasures, that invites more foreign countries to establish bilateral relations. The Vanilla Islands' principal tourist difficulties are their tiny size, relative isolation from the rest of the globe, inaccessibility due to a lack of effective connectivity such as air or shipping services, and last but not least, the marine environment. The Vanilla Islands are very sensitive to economic and environmental shocks as a result of these characteristics. Any kind of natural disaster shakes up the whole region, and then it takes years altogether to get the economy back on track.

Furthermore, a significant shift in political economics is required to make growth in the tourist sector. Although the Vanilla Islands collaborate with nations in the Indian Ocean region on a bilateral basis, there has been little success. This is especially true when it comes to two components of tourism that is air connectivity and product packaging. Some countries believe that increasing regional cooperation will cost them more than it would gain them. Regional integration will remain a distant objective unless all immediate and long-term trade-offs, as well as advantages to be gained by nations individually and collectively, are understood. Collaboration endeavours will only deliver gradual changes.

CONCLUSION-

Putting out a cooperative effort to safeguard the cultural and ecological legacy and the biodiversity of these islands' maritime habitats has become a national or regional issue and an international concern. The islands should focus on developing a policy framework for long-term development, with tourism as a top priority. Though it becomes a bit difficult after the COVID-19 pandemic, that is the reason regional cooperation becomes very important. Increased collaboration with neighbours by fostering cooperative ventures can be very effective. There should also be a focus on areas like ocean governance, minerals and energy. Conserving marine and ocean environment has become an aspect of importance these days. This can be done by the support and coordination of international organisations, foreign countries who are willing to provide aid and non-state actors involved in the same domain of work. When negotiating trade agreements involving particular local productions, the region's interests are considered upstream, such as sugar. The concepts of regional integration and cooperation will surely bring in huge developments.

REFERENCES-

[1] Bank, A. D. (2019b, October 16). Comoros Economic Outlook [Text]. African Development Bank - Building Today, a Better Africa Tomorrow; African Development Bank Group. https://www.afdb.org/en/countries/east-africa/comoros/comoros-economic-outlook

[2] Bank, A. D. (2019a, April 1). Mauritius Economic Outlook [Text]. African Development Bank - Building Today, a Better Africa Tomorrow; African Development Bank Group. https://www.afdb.org/en/countries/southern-africa/mauritius/mauritius-economic-outlook

[3] Reunion—Economy. (n.d.). from https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/indian-ocean/re-economy.htm

[4] Overview. (n.d.). [Text/HTML]. World Bank. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/madagascar/overview

[5] IORA - https://www.iora.int/en/events-media-news/press-releases

[6] Rath, S. (n.d.). Approach Paper for The “Twinning Initiative.” https://euindiathinktanks.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Role-of-EU-and-India-in-nurturing-the-Vanilla-islands-as-an-international-tourist-destination.pdf 

Pic Courtesy-Catherine Malofei at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do to represent views of CESCUBE.)