New Delhi: India and Mauritius are set to boost maritime security cooperation and ink a raft of agreements to shore up engagement in a range of areas, such as trade and capacity building, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the island nation next week.
Modi is visiting Mauritius on March 11 and 12 at the invitation of Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam, primarily to grace the island nation’s national day celebrations.
A contingent of Indian armed forces will participate in the celebrations, along with a warship of the Indian Navy and the Akash Ganga skydiving team of the Indian Air Force.
At a media briefing on Saturday, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said the Indian Navy and Mauritius authorities are set to sign a technical agreement on exchanging information on white shipping during Modi’s visit.
“It will enable Indian and Mauritius authorities to cooperate in preventing illegal activities and improve Mauritius’ maritime domain awareness in the region,” he said.
The two sides will sign several agreements in the field of capacity building, bilateral trade, tackling cross-border financial crimes and promoting small and medium enterprises, he said.
Modi and Ramgoolam will hold wide-ranging talks.
Misri said the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and the Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to create a framework for cooperating in maritime zone management and ocean observation and research.
Modi and Ramgoolam are set to jointly inaugurate a civil service college and a health centre built with Indian grants.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Financial Crime Commission of Mauritius will sign an MoU on combating financial crimes during Modi’s visit.
The pact is aimed at enhancing cooperation in intelligence and technical assistance to combat money laundering and related crimes.
Modi will also meet senior dignitaries and leaders of political parties and interact with members of the Indian-origin community.
Describing Mauritius as a close maritime neighbour, he said India has been privileged to have been a preferred development partner for the island nation. India has close and longstanding relations with Mauritius, an island nation in the Western Indian Ocean.
A key reason for the special ties is the fact that people of Indian origin comprise nearly 70 percent of the island nation’s population of 1.2 million.
Since 2005, India has been among the largest trading partners of Mauritius.
For the financial year 2022-2023, Indian exports to Mauritius were USD 462 million, while Mauritian exports to India were USD 91.50 million.
The total trade volume was USD 554 million.
Trade has grown by 132 percent in the last 17 years, from USD 206 million in 2005-06 to USD 554 million in 2022-23, according to official data.
