India-Mauritius Relations

Subject: IR

Section: Indian and the world

Context- Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth is in India on an eight-day visit.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that PM Jugnauth will participate in the ceremony of the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar and the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit in Gandhinagar

Concept-

India- Maldives Relations:

Historical:

Since 1820’s, Indian workers started coming to Mauritius to work on sugar
The people who went to Mauritius from India took their language, customs, traditions, religious beliefs with them to their new abode.
November 2, 1834, marks the day when the ship ‘Atlas’ docked in Mauritius carrying the first batch of Indian indentured labourers.
This day is now observed in Mauritius as ‘Aapravasi Day’.
As a tribute to Gandhiji and the Indian freedom struggle, the National Day of Mauritius is celebrated on March 12 (the date of launch of Dandi Salt March).

Political Relation

After independence in March, 1968, the first PM and the Father of the Mauritian Nation, Seewoosagur Ramgoolam accorded centrality to India in Mauritius’ foreign policy.
Indian PM Narendra Modi visited Mauritius in 2015, as Chief Guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations.
During his visit, PM Modi commissioned the Offshore Patrol Vessel Barracuda, financed by a Government of India (GoI) Line of Credit, into the Mauritian Coast Guard.
It was during this visit that the PM Modi had outlined India’s maritime cooperation vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region.
In March 2018, President of India visited Mauritius as a Chief Guest to the commemorative events marking the 50th anniversary of the independence of Mauritius.
In February 2021, during the visit of Indian Foreign Minister to Mauritius, the two countries also signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA).
This was India’s first such agreement with an African country.

Economic Relations:

India is Mauritius’ largest trading partner and has been the largest exporter of goods and services to Mauritius since 2007.
In 2020, India represented 10% share of Mauritian total imports and ranked 3rd in their main countries of import.
The volume of exports from India to Mauritius was 1,027 million $ in 2018, 776 million $ in 2019 and 396 million $ in 2020.
The value of Mauritian exports to India in 2019 was 24 million $ and 32 million $ in 2020. Trade balance is in favour of India.
The signing of CECPA between India &Mauritius will further improve trade relation.
Mauritius was the third largest source of FDI into India during the financial year 2020-21, with FDI equity inflows amounting to USD 5.63 billion.

Developmental relations:

India and Mauritius signed a MoU in March 2015. The main focus of the pact was the development of island of Agalega, some 1,122 km north of Mauritius.
In total, India is planning to invest funds to the tune of $ 18 million in all these developmental projects on Agalega Island.
In January 2021, Modi and Jugnauth inaugurated the Social Housing Project, and laid the foundation stones for a Civil Service College and an 8 MW Solar PV Farm project.
Two agreements were also exchanged:
- Extension of US$ 190 million Line of Credit to Mauritius for the Metro Express and other infrastructure projects and
- MoU on the Implementation of Small Development Projects

Security Relations:

India is currently assisting Mauritius in constructing a dedicated dockyard to cater for a large number of vessels being inducted into the Mauritius Coast
India in 2015, exported the first ever warship as an Offshore Patrol Vessel ‘CGS Barracuda’ to Mauritius.
India handed over ten Fast Interceptor Boats to the National Coast Guard (NCG) of Mauritius under a line of credit agreement.
In March 2022, Mauritius became the 4thmember of the Colombo Security Conclave (CSC).
- The CSC was formed in 2011 as a trilateral maritime security grouping of India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
- It aims to increase the security cooperation, covering marine safety and security, human trafficking, counter-terrorism, and cyber security.

India’s Assistance during Pandemic:

In May 2020, India launched Mission Sagar as part of the India’s outreach initiative towards five Island nations in the Indian Ocean, which included Mauritius, amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the mission, India provided food Items, COVID related Medicines with Medical Assistance Teams to these nations.
Later in January 2021, India delivered the Made-in-India COVID-19 Vaccines to Mauritius under the Vaccine Maitri Initiative.
In August 2020, Mauritius had declared a national emergency over an oil spill near its coast. India promptly provided assistance to Mauritius in dealing with the situation.

Cultural Relations:

India’s relationship with Mauritius is an imprint of Mauritian population of 1.3 million of which 68% are of Indian descent.
India ranks fourth in terms of Mauritian students studying in overseas tertiary education institutions.
Mauritius was granted, at 14th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas in January 2017, a special carve-out for issuance of OCI Cards to its nationals of Indian origin.
Under this initiative, restriction on the number of generations was waived off.
Mauritius introduced a visa-free regime for Indian tourists in October 2004, whereby Indian tourists visiting Mauritius for a period up to 30 days do not require a visa.