On 25 March 2025, Burkhard Balz, member of the Executive Board of the Deutsche Bundesbank, and Dr Rama Krishna Sithanen G.C.S.K., Governor of the Bank of Mauritius, signed a new version of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that was first agreed at the end of 2020 and had recently expired. The signing took place on the premises of the Bank of Mauritius.

Over the past four years, several bilateral seminars have been held with staff of the Bank of Mauritius. Foremost among these, with 70 participants, was a course on the topic of IT audit. There is also great interest in our international central banking courses. Here, interest from Mauritius extends to the entire range of classic and modern central bank topics we offer.

In a speech held after the signing of the MoU, Mr Balz additionally addressed the fundamental importance of central bank independence – also citing negative examples from German monetary history. He stressed that central bank independence must be ensured so as not to jeopardise the primary objective of price stability, especially in view of wider mandates such as the supervision of financial institutions, the introduction of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and the consideration of climate-related risks.

In particular, the question of how central banks can adequately take account of climate-related risks was discussed in detail in the subsequent question round. As an island nation, Mauritius is already particularly affected by man-made climate change. This is why the Bank of Mauritius – as well as the Bundesbank and numerous other central banks and supervisory authorities worldwide – is working within the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS) towards a more sustainable financial system.

In conclusion, Mr Balz therefore also stressed the importance of international cooperation in addressing global challenges: Especially in times when peaceful international cooperation is coming under increasing pressure, the renewal of our common MoU sends an important signal. The Bundesbank looks forward to continuing its cooperation and further joint projects with the Bank of Mauritius.