Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
New Delhi, Jan 20 : Mauritius is integral to India’s approach to the Indian Ocean, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday and stressed that New Delhi will always stand by Mauritius in its development journey.
He made the remarks 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, and in the coming days work would begin on several important projects, including a renal transplant unit, the national library and archives, a police academy among others.
Mauritius PM Jugnauth, in his remarks, said that he is “delighted that our partnership and friendship have grown to new heights since you became PM of India.”
He spoke in Hindi to thank PM Modi.
Referring to the Metro Express, being built under Indian assistance, PM Jugnauth said the efficiency and popularity of the project is “testimony to the vibrancy of the Mauritius-India partnership and we never cease to acknowledge that without the financial assistance of the Govt of India the projects would not have been implemented so fast.”
As a token of gratitude to India, his government has decided to name of the Metro stations as Mahatma Gandhi station, he said.
He said that today’s event demonstrates once again the “very special and privileged relations” between Mauritius and India.
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.
PM Modi, in his speech, 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 Lady Sarojini Jugnauth in November last year to accept the award,” he said.
PM Modi said that today’s event is the first bilateral event following the demise of the former Mauritian 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.
“I am happy that Mauritius is among the few countries to have fully vaccinated three fourths of its population,” PM Modi said
“Mauritius is also integral to our approach to the Indian Ocean. It was in Mauritius, during my 2015 visit, that I had outlined India’s maritime cooperation vision of SAGAR -Security and Growth for All in the Region,” he added
“I am glad our bilateral cooperation, including in maritime security, has translated this vision into action,” he said.
He said that despite the Covid constraints, India was able to hand over a Dornier aircraft on lease to Mauritius Police last year and complete the Short Refit of the Mauritian Coast Guard ship Barracuda. The deployment of equipment and experts to contain the 2020 oil spill from the Japanese tanker Wakashio was another example of our cooperation to protect our shared maritime heritage, the PM said.
Referring to the One Sun One World One Grid initiative, which was launched on the sidelines of the COP-26 meeting in Glasgow last year, the PM said the initiative will not only reduce carbon footprints and energy costs, but also open a new avenue for cooperation between different countries and regions. “I hope that India and Mauritius can together create a shining example of such cooperation in solar energy,” he added.
