Port Louis: Terming the partnership with India as “multifaceted”, Mauritius Foreign Minister Dhananjay Ramful on Friday highlighted the active involvement of Indian government in financing and developing numerous infrastructure projects in the Indian Ocean nation.
In an interview with IANS, Ramful, who is also a minister for Regional Integration and International Trade, highlighted the growing business ties between both countries.
“India-Mauritius partnership is multifaceted and it’s geared towards a steady socio-economic transformation, from infrastructure and capacity building to education, technology, health and various sectors. Many projects in Mauritius bears the footprint of the Indian government. Many of these projects have been financed by the Indian government, either through grants or concessional lines of credit,” Ramful told IANS.
“On the economic front, Mauritius and India, we have signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement, which has been very effective in strengthening trade and investment between the two countries. The trade between Mauritius and India accounted for approximately USD 887 million USD in recent years and with a strong upward trajectory. Capital flows between the two countries have also increased significantly, and today Mauritius is the second-largest source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India,” he added.
Last September, India announced a Special Economic Package (SEP) of USD 680 million during the Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam’s State Visit to India, which included a budgetary assistance of USD 25 million. Important projects under this SEP include New Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam National Hospital, AYUSH Centre of Excellence, Veterinary School, Animal Hospital, Provision of helicopters, completion of construction work of new ATC tower at SSR International Airport, Development of Motorway M4 and Development of Ring Road Phase II.
Hailing India’s contribution to the Global South, Ramful said that India remains a “trusted partner” for Mauritius. He mentioned that the partnership between India and Mauritius is not only a bilateral success but can be seen as a blueprint for the collective future of the Global South.
“The Global South is composed of countries that have shared histories of colonialism and economic dependency, as well as systemic inequalities in the global political system and India has been playing a remarkable role as a trusted partner in the Global South. In that respect, the partnership between India and Mauritius is not merely a bilateral success, but it can also be considered as a blueprint for the collective future of the Global South. Our partnerships on maritime security, healthcare, technology, land and transport, port infrastructure. All of these initiatives have been successful and they can serve as examples to other countries belonging to the Global South,” he stated.
Ramful said that India and Mauritius have common interest in ensuring that the Indian Ocean remains safe, secure and the laws of sea are respected.
“The Indian Ocean is a shared by both our countries, and we have a common interest in making sure that the Indian Ocean is safe, secure, where the law of sea is respected. In that respect, we already have a strategy with the Indian government. The Indian Prime Minister has launched the MAHASAGAR Initiative. We are engaging with the Indian authorities through the Information Fusion Centre for sharing of our shipping information across the Indian Ocean. We have conducted joint maritime exercises with the Indian Navy. So, in many ways, we have already developed a strategy with the Indian government in order to make the Indian Ocean a safe place,” he commented.
(IANS)
