New Delhi, Jan 20 (FN Agency) Mauritius is integral to India’s approach in the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday as he inaugurated jointly with Mauritius PM Pravind Jugnauth the India-assisted Social Housing Units project in Mauritius virtually. “Mauritius is a prime example of India’s approach to development partnership, which is based on the needs and priorities of our partners, and respect their sovereignty,” PM Modi said, in an apparent reference to China and its Belt and Road initiative which is attracting increasing criticism globally. He said that India and Mauritius are united by history, ancestry, culture, language, and the shared waters of the Indian Ocean. “Today our robust development partnership has emerged as a key pillar of our close ties,” the PM emphasized. He said the agreement on small development projects that was inked today would deliver high impact projects at the community level in Mauritius.
He said in the coming days work would begin on several important projects, including the national library and archives, a police academy among others. “I would like to reiterate that India will always continue to stand by Mauritius in its development journey. Bharat aur Mauritius Maitri amar rahe,” the PM said. Earlier, ahead of the virtual inauguration of the Housing Project and the Civil Service College, the two sides inked two agreements. One was on High Impact Community Development Projects of India grant assistance of USD 10 million, in the field of education, healthcare, community development, women empowerment. The second was a Line of Credit of USD 190 million for the Metro Express Project and other infrastructure projects. The PM also recalled the stellar contribution of the late Anerood Jugnauth, who had served as Mauritius Prime Minister and President, towards fostering stronger India-Mauritius ties. “He was a visionary leader who was widely respected in India. Upon his passing we had declared a day of national mourning in India and our parliament had paid homage to him,” PM Modi recalled. He said it was India’s privilege to honour Anerood Jugnauth with the Padma Vibhushan in 2020, “but unfortunately the pandemic did not permit us to schedule the award ceremony during his lifetime.” “We were honoured by the presence of Sarojini Jugnauth to accept the award last year,” he said. PM Modi said that today’s event is the first bilateral event following the demise of the former leader. He said the partnership between the two nations has been exemplary in fighting Covid, and added that Mauritius was among the first nations to receive vaccines from India under the Vaccine Maitri.
“We are happy that Mauritius is among the few countries to have vaccinated three fourths of its population,” PM Modi said. He also recalled his 2015 visit to Mauritius when he had outlined India’s maritime vision of SAGAR – or Security and Growth for all in the Region. “I am glad our bilateral cooperation, including in maritime security, has translated this vision into action,” the PM added. He said that despite the Covid constraints, India was able to hand over a Dornier aircraft on lease to Mauritius Police last year. He also recalled India’s deployment of equipment and experts to contain the oil spill when the Japanese tanker Wakashio ran aground off the southeast coast of Mauritius in July 2020, leaking oil that fouled waters.