New Delhi: India and Mauritius upgraded their ties to an “enhanced strategic partnership” with eight agreements, covering commercial shipping information sharing and a Rs 487.6-crore rupee-based line of credit, alongside Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s s separate offer to help build a new parliament building for the Indian ocean nation.
On the final day of his visit, Modi held talks with Mauritian Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and attended the country’s national day celebrations as a chief guest. This is Modi’s first meeting with Ramgoolam since the Mauritian leader ousted Pravind Jugnauth in general elections last year.
Following formal discussions, Modi emphasised in his media statement that they both agreed that “defence cooperation and maritime security are key pillars of our strategic partnership.”
“Free, open, secure, and safe Indian Ocean is our common priority. We are committed to providing our full support for the security of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Mauritius. In this regard, we will extend every possible assistance to meet the needs of the Coast Guard,” he said.
Mauritius is India’s closest ally in the Indian Ocean, a region of strategic importance due to its critical shipping lanes and China’s growing influence.
A joint statement on the “Enhanced Strategic Partnership” outlined seven key measures, including the use of the newly built runway and jetty at Agalega to bolster the security of Mauritius’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), provisioning of defence and maritime assets, and increased deployment of ships and aircraft for joint surveillance and hydrography surveys. India will also assist in establishing a National Maritime Information Sharing Centre (NMISC) to enhance maritime domain awareness.
The two sides further agreed to collaborate in marine operations and engineering, as well as port safety, emergency response, and security, with Indian expertise supporting the Mauritius Port Authority. Additionally, India will provide customised training and capacity-building initiatives to meet the evolving needs of the Mauritius Police Force.
One of the eight agreements signed on Wednesday was a technical agreement between Indian Navy and Mauritius Police Force for sharing of real-time information related to commercial shipping.
“The agreement that has been exchanged today on sharing of white shipping information between the Indian Navy and the government of Mauritius will essentially enhance Mauritius’ maritime security. Its safety of its trade will lead to real-time sharing of data, preventing illegal activities, and in an overall sense, enhancing maritime domain awareness for Mauritius’ authorities,” foreign secretary Vikram Misri told reporters at a press briefing later in the day.
Modi on Wednesday also unveiled a new acronym for India’s Indian Ocean policy, Mahasagar (Mutual And Holistic Advancement for Security And Growth Across Regions), describing it as an “advanced” version of Sagar (Security And Growth Across Region).
When asked about the difference from the earlier policy, Misri said it would prioritise capacity building, mutual security, technology sharing, and project-specific concessional finance, including grant assistance.
The joint statement also noted that India reiterated “firm support” for Mauritius on the Chagos issue and welcomed ongoing discussions between Mauritius and the United Kingdom. Following adverse judgement at the International Court of Justice, UK last year agreed to hand over the sovereignty of Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, which agreed to a long-term lease to allow the continued operation of the US military base of Diego Garcia.
In keeping with its traditional position as an Indian ocean partner, Mauritius has usually been among the top five recipients of Indian foreign aid. In last ten years, India had committed nearly $1.1 billion in aid to Mauritius, out of which two third is soft loans, while rest is grant.
In a first today, State Bank of India (SBI) signed an agreement with Mauritius government to extend an Indian rupee-denominated line of credit amounting to Rs 487.6 crore for undertaking the replacement of water pipelines in Mauritius.
“It is the first ever Indian rupee-based Line of Credit that’s being extended by India to any country and, therefore, a significant development which expands further our ongoing development cooperation partnership through Indian rupee Lines of Credit,” said Misri.
The prime minister also announced to provide grant assistance to undertake phase two of the high-impact community development projects programme, worth 500 million Mauritian rupees (approximately Rs 96.67 crore).
Besides, Modi also announced a “gift” to Mauritius to build a new parliament building.
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Mauritius had been the top source of foreign investment into India, contributing $175 billion since 2000. However, following the 2016 revision of the Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT), this inflow dropped drastically. Even then, in the 2023-24 fiscal year, Mauritius ranked second after Singapore as a source of foreign investment into India.
In an interview with PTI, Mauritius foreign and trade minister Dhananjay Ramful said the amendment to the DTAC was still under discussion. “Two issues, I think, need to be sorted out. From what I’ve been told, once this is sorted out, then they will sign the protocol,” he said on Tuesday.
Without specifying a deadline, the joint statement said the protocol on amendment of the DTAT would be ratified “at the earliest to harmonise with international standards on treaty abuse, after ongoing discussions are concluded.”
A senior Indian diplomat noted that while India had completed its ratification process, Mauritius was yet to do so.
“There are some clarifications that had been requested by our colleagues from Mauritius. These clarifications have been provided, and they have been provided at a very high level. Our aim is to set at rest all doubts and provide satisfaction to our friends and colleagues from Mauritius that they have a good and a solid agreement on this front. And therefore, this matter was also discussed during the visit, and we very much hope that Mauritius will complete its internal processes at the soonest, and the protocol will come into force very quickly,” said Misri.
