(No. B/591) Ms M. R. Collet (First Member for Rodrigues) asked the Minister of Industry, SME and Cooperative whether, in regard to the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) online e-filing system, he will, for the benefit of the House, obtain information as to where matters stand regarding the implementation and effectiveness thereof in Mauritius, indicating the – (a) number of applications received, processed, approved and followed up, respectively as at to date, and (b) sensitisation missions and capacity-building sessions being envisaged for Intellectual Property agents, attorneys-at-law and technical staff to ensure the effective adoption thereof nationwide. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade (Mr D. Ramful): Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir. First and foremost, allow me to inform the House that Mauritius acceded to the Harare Protocol on Patents, Utility Models and Industrial Designs on 27 May 2025. And our membership to this protocol administered by the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation, in short form ARIPO, became effective on 27 August 2025. Henceforth, whenever applications are filed by foreign applicants at ARIPO for the protection of patents, utility models, and industrial designs, and where Mauritius is designated in such applications, the Industrial Property Office of Mauritius is notified of same through the Member States module, a tool designed by ARIPO, and the installation of which was effected by the ARIPO experts during their mission in Mauritius in April 2026. The MS module is an online notification and document exchange platform between ARIPO and its member states. The notifications are done through the Industrial Property Automation System, a software owned by the World Intellectual Property Organisation, in short form WIPO, and already deployed and being used by the IP Office since 2013. The successful installation of the Member State module required the involvement and contribution of WIPO and ARIPO experts, the Government Online Centre, as well as officers of the IT unit of my Ministry. The objectives of the ARIPO online services are to – (i) enhance the efficiency and flexibility of business processing and other administrative work at the ARIPO office, Member States IPOs, intellectual property agents, and the public at large. (ii) facilitate the accessibility and use of intellectual property information in the region and in Africa at large, and (iii) strengthen ICT institutional capacity in the ARIPO region and beyond. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, let me add that the implementation and use of this Member State module is still at an early stage, and I understand that a virtual meeting will be held in the near future engaging all the aforementioned stakeholders to test the practicability and effectiveness of this tool, address any challenges, and thereafter, enable the IP Office to notify ARIPO of the outcome of applications in which Mauritius has been designated. Having said so, Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, allow me to also inform the House that my Ministry is seeking the assistance and guidance of ARIPO to domesticate the provisions of the Harare Protocol. This will entail the amendment of the existing legal framework on industrial property to ensure the proper implementation of the provisions relating to the Harare Protocol. Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, with regards to part (a) of the question, that is, the number of applications received. According to the quarterly reports received from ARIPO for the periods 01 October 2025 to 31 December 2025, and 01 January 2026 to 31 March 2026, Mauritius has been designated in – six patent applications, which are still under process; 14 industrial design applications, 5 of which have been registered, and 1 utility model application, which is still under process. With regard to part (b) of the question, I wish to inform the House that ARIPO, in collaboration with my Ministry, organised an online sensitisation workshop at Caudan Arts Centre on 21 April 2026. The objective of the workshop was to enhance the uptake of the e- filing services offered by ARIPO with a view to facilitating online filing of IP titles, payment of fees, and online tracking applications. This workshop targeted IP agents and attorneys, and other potential users of the ARIPO system. The ARIPO mission conducted capacity building sessions for the benefit of the technical staff of the IP Office on the deployment and use of the Member State module on the second day of the mission, and had a working session with some IP agents on the third day of the mission. Thank you. The Deputy Speaker: The hon. Third Member for Port Louis North and Montagne Longue. INTERNATIONAL VACCINATION CENTRE – SERVICE DECENTRALISATION –