When attracting investments it s a matter of international competition, we need to show our competitive advantages, Andrianarivelo-Razafy said. The ambassador said reform is needed for developing countries to succeed along with foreign support from other countries, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The island nation of Madagascar is a crossroad between Africa and Asia. The former French colony is located 400 miles off the African continent in the Indian Ocean. The official languages are French and Malagasy.
Major exports are vanilla, coffee, shellfish, cloves, sugar, textiles and petroleum products.
Many principal imports are from the United States and include consumer goods, chemical products, cars and machinery. He earned his master s degree in business administration from Ball State in 1984. His education helped him to secure his ambassadorship, he said. My education here was instrumental in my ambassadorship. I m a new breed, not a career diplomat.