The leaders present shared their vision for the Indian Ocean:
Tantely RAKOTOMALALA: "Today together, let us dare to build a better tomorrow"
As we conclude this 2024 CEO Summit, I want to express my deep gratitude to each of you for your engagement and active participation during these two days. This summit has been a true crossroads of ideas, innovation, and collaboration, bringing together visionary leaders from the Indian Ocean region and beyond. First, I would like to thank our sponsors and partners, whose invaluable support was crucial for making this event possible.
Your commitment has created a space conducive to fruitful exchanges and strategic discussions. A special thanks to our Platinum sponsors — Rio Tinto, Star, and Redland — whose commitment demonstrates their desire to contribute to the sustainable economic development of our region. I will now list all of our partners and sponsors.
Our sponsoring ministries are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Industrialization and Trade, and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development. Our institutional partners, who supported us in organizing these two days of exchanges, are the Indian Ocean Commission, the Economic Development Board of Madagascar, UNIDO, UNCDF, UNDP, Cap Business Indian Ocean, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Madagascar, the National Council for Industrialization of Madagascar, the Madagascar Business Group, the Free Enterprise and Partners Group, the Women Entrepreneurs Group of Madagascar, the Young Business Leaders of Madagascar, FOMM, FIOMBOLANI URNAS MADAGAS, CANCHAM, the Indian Ocean Entrepreneurs Forum, the Reunion Island Chamber of Commerce, the France-Madagascar Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the France-Mauritius Chamber of Industry.
Our Gold sponsors are the new hotel hosting us, Reunion Development, Total Energies, Zodiat Group, MCB Bank, and Société Générale Madagascar. Our Silver sponsors are Newpac, Inviso, Arbiochem, Jiforesse, Luceo, Azuvat, Corex Solar, and Ravnal Airport.
Aéropub, Knight, Abibo, Bank of Africa, Sunray, Rengo, Strategy and Territories, Magellan, Bazan, Imago, Club Export Reunion, TAF, Rianis, STOI, AFG Bank, and AFG Insurance. AR Insurance is our official insurer — and fortunately, we didn't need to use their services!
Our media partners are l'Express, Les Nouvelles, Perspective, and Memento. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone among our partners and sponsors. Yesterday, we had the honor of welcoming His Excellency the President of the Republic of Madagascar, who granted his high patronage to this first edition of the CEO Summit. We were all enthused by the strong messages from the President of the Reunion Region, our Queen of the CEO Summit. We also benefited from the presence of our sponsoring ministers and various institutional partners.
We had the honor of hosting high-level speakers who shared their perspectives and strategies through four keynotes, seven panels, five roundtables, and various networking formats. These discussions have not only enriched our understanding of current and future challenges but have also paved the way for innovative solutions.
I want to commend the hard work of the entire organizing team who contributed to making this summit a resounding success. I invite you to applaud them. Their dedication and professionalism have been remarkable.
Together, we have laid the foundation for strengthened collaboration between the private sector and governments — collaboration essential for meeting the challenges ahead. We encourage all of you to continue these dialogues beyond these two days of exchange, transforming our ideas into concrete actions.
Our president of the Madagascar Industries Association will now present these resolution foundations. For my part, I wish you all a safe return and hope that this meeting will be the beginning of new initiatives and a prosperous future. Thank you again to all our sponsors, partners, and participants, and see you soon for our next edition.
Thank you.
Tiana RASAMIMANANA (First intervention): "What's important today is to focus on pragmatic and achievable measures, so we can evaluate their progress and implementation in the coming year"
Mr. Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Madam President of the Regional Council of Reunion, Mr. Ambassador of France to Madagascar, honorable guests, in your respective ranks and qualities.
We are reaching the conclusion of this event. You will judge its effectiveness for yourselves, with its clear objective: to develop our businesses.
During these two days, we have explored creating complementarity and a common market in the Indian Ocean region. Our ambition is to grow together and establish true freedom of exchange between our islands. The presence of more than 375 participants — CEOs and collaborators — demonstrates the importance of this objective.
Participants from Reunion, Mauritius, Comoros, and Madagascar have all shown their willingness to collaborate toward our common goal. The exchanges during the workshops have generated genuine enthusiasm and brought forth many constructive ideas.
However, despite years of work on this Indian Ocean common market, concrete results remain limited. The President of Reunion was particularly applauded during her opening speech for expressing essential truths.
She proposed concrete solutions to implement. Take the example of the tourism sector, with the Vanilla Islands project, on which my friend Xavier Desplanques and the Indian Ocean Entrepreneurs Forum have been working for more than 20 years.
Tangible results are still pending. This is why we will present targeted resolutions to the next regional heads of state summit, allowing for precise monitoring and evaluation of our progress at the second edition of the CEO Summit.
These measures, developed during our workshops, reflect our pragmatic approach while respecting the challenges specific to each country. A crucial observation emerged: pooling resources requires some cession of national sovereignty.
This sacrifice is necessary for our collective progress. Like a seed that must transform for a new plant to flourish, we must accept giving up certain advantages to gain others. We hope that at the next IOC heads of state summit, our leaders will adopt these resolutions and implement them concretely.
These resolutions are designed to be achievable in the short term. Medium and long-term proposals will require more time, but the essential thing is to lay the foundations now. This is our achievement during this first edition of the CEO Summit.
I will now invite Catherine Payette to present the resolution intended for the regional heads of state summit. We will deliver it to the representative of the Malagasy authorities present here, the Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Mr. David Rallempfink. Catherine.
Catherine PAYET (Strategy and Territories): "This Friday, December 6, 2024, in Antananarivo, the time has come to transform our reflections and intentions into concrete actions"
Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Minister of Industrialization and Trade, Madam President of the Reunion Region, Mr. Ambassador of France to Madagascar, Ladies and Gentlemen. This Friday, December 6, 2024, in Antananarivo, after two days of fruitful work and exchanges to build together a vision of our regional future, the time has come to transform our reflections into concrete actions. The CEO Summit is a historic and unifying moment, but above all, it's a springboard to action.
We leave enriched by the contacts made, partnerships initiated, and opportunities that will emerge from our meetings. Our collective duty is to realize this potential. The roundtables, panels, and networking sessions have highlighted major conclusions and ideas that will guide the development of our region.
We propose an action plan in three phases: short, medium, and long term. We are fully aware of the advantages of a regional common market and the challenges involved in creating it.
Here are our main resolutions. First, we will create an umbrella brand platform for the Indian Ocean. To increase our visibility, enhance our assets, and strengthen our attractiveness, we will launch the Indian Ocean brand in 2025. This initiative will rely on a network of regional actors, initiatives, and leaders who will carry our image to international markets.
Under this umbrella brand, we will develop an Indian Ocean tourism brand, symbol of an exceptional sustainable destination, reinventing the Vanilla Islands concept as a pillar of our common tourism strategy. The Indian Ocean is not just a destination — it's the promise of a meaningful journey.
Let's be ambitious and create together the model the world is waiting for. The CEO Summit proposes to anchor our future tourism and cruise cooperation in renewed values, resolutely oriented toward sustainable, inclusive, and regenerative tourism. Second, to facilitate exchanges between our islands, we will quickly establish circulation cards for business leaders.
We will develop common standards and quality improvement processes, drawing on the expertise of CRIT Reunion and other certification bodies in the zone. Our objective is to promote proximity and complementarity by creating a progressive free trade zone, initiated in Madagascar and extended to Indian Ocean countries. This zone will progressively cover various sectors and products, building on existing data and impact studies. We will leverage international partnerships, particularly thanks to Reunion's unique position in both the Indo-oceanic and European space.
We will organize a private sector forum alongside the Indian Ocean Commission heads of state summit in April 2025 in Nosy Be. We will strengthen air and sea connections through an inclusive working group. A new regional maritime company will ensure goods transportation and improve service quality.
To facilitate connections between our islands, we will create a regional INVEST guide particularly targeting African markets. An association of Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) will be established in the five Indian Ocean Commission countries, drawing on the expertise of Consular Chambers to attract necessary investments.
Third, we will make food security and sustainable food a regional priority in 2025. We will enhance the zone's agricultural potential by mapping resources, actors, and innovations. This approach will strengthen south-south cooperation and trade, while developing our agricultural and industrial transformation capabilities according to local needs.
Our approach to sustainable development and responsible production will help us overcome technical barriers to export, particularly to Europe. We will create exchange spaces between entrepreneurs, students, and researchers. Our ambition is to pool research for sustainable food, combining economic value and territorial impact.
Finally, we will support regional entrepreneurship, particularly in Madagascar, through training, financing, certification, and mentoring. Women's empowerment will be a priority, making our region a model of inclusive leadership. We will organize the Indian Ocean and Africa Women's Summit in Reunion in the first half of 2025. This first edition marks a decisive step toward regional integration.
It paves the way for upcoming editions: Antananarivo in 2025, then Reunion Island in 2026. Thank you for your attention.
Tiana RASAMIMANANA (Second intervention): "Each island, each nation plays an essential role, and your presence today demonstrates your commitment as CEOs"
Thank you very much, Catherine. Here is the resolution of this summit after two intense days of reflection and exchanges. These discussions have led to several essential points that we have highlighted.
Our priority now is to focus on pragmatic and achievable measures, whose progress we can evaluate in the coming year. There you have it, Ladies and Gentlemen, the conclusion of this CEO Summit. As Tantely highlighted, we thank you infinitely for your presence and remarkable commitment. Your massive participation until the end demonstrates the strength of our approach. We hope that our leaders will be attentive to our proposals and that we will see concrete progress in the coming months. Thank you infinitely for your attention and participation. The awards ceremony will take place this evening, as scheduled in the program.
I am convinced that the majority of us will be present this evening. We hope you have had two enriching days in Tana and that this CEO Summit has allowed you to develop fruitful business relationships, particularly in B2B as planned. I now give the floor to the Minister of Industrialization and Trade of Madagascar for the official closing. Mr. Minister, we will provide you with a copy of this resolution later. I note that you have already taken notes, and we are eager to see the results.
Thank you infinitely for your attention, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you again for your participation.
David Herizo RALAMBOFIRINGA(Minister of Industrialization and Trade of Madagascar): "We have the talent. We have the resources"
Good evening everyone. Thank you, Mr. President, for allowing me to address you again. Madam President of the Regional Council of Reunion, Your Excellency Ambassador of France to Madagascar, Mr. President of the Madagascar Industries Association and Madam CEO of BECOM, honorable guests, in your respective ranks and capacities, all protocol observed.
It is a privilege to have participated in this first edition of the CEO Summit in Madagascar. On behalf of His Excellency the President of the Republic and the entire government, I would like to commend this achievement and congratulate the organizers for holding this event under exemplary conditions. I had the pleasure of participating in several roundtables and panels.
I thank you all for your presence and strong mobilization, which is reflected in our ambitious and promising resolutions. These initiatives, once implemented, will have a significant impact. The clear direction we have defined today has, I hope, enabled the establishment of fruitful and inspiring partnerships. The data collected and your testimonies strengthen my conviction that everything is achievable, despite the magnitude of the challenges.
As the President emphasized, it is crucial to measure our progress. The upcoming editions — Madagascar in 2025 and Reunion in 2026 — will allow us to evaluate our progress. This period, which may seem long, will actually be very short in a governmental calendar. The government of the Republic of Madagascar commits to moving forward alongside you, and I invite all CEOs from the region and Africa to do the same.
I particularly thank our visitors from the African continent. This morning's presentation on Kenyan tea was especially enlightening. These exchanges offer an excellent opportunity for our Malagasy operators to study best practices and progress.
It is essential to rethink our entrepreneurial practices to align with global development and regional integration, particularly within free trade zones — SADC, COMESA, and soon AFCFTA and Indian Ocean. Today's resolutions demonstrate our commitment to creating an Indian Ocean label, both for production and tourism. I welcome this initiative and encourage all stakeholders to maintain their efforts. The momentum created these past two days, visible in your massive participation, must continue. We must capitalize on this dynamic, track our progress, and consider establishing commissions. The organizers and the Madagascar Industries Association, supported by regional actors, are best positioned to lead these initiatives. Rest assured of public authorities' support in achieving your ambitions. With that, I officially declare this CEO Summit closed. I wish you an excellent evening and a safe journey back to your respective countries. Thank you very much.
Transcription: Romuald DARIOT - CEO Rungo - AI Specialist Date: December 5, 2024
Distribution: CEO Summit 2024 Participants