India and Mauritius Strengthen Ties with Multiple Agreements and Defense Upgrade

On Wednesday, India and Mauritius took a significant step forward in their bilateral relations by upgrading them to an enhanced strategic partnership and finalizing eight agreements aimed at strengthening cooperation in key areas like trade and maritime security. This comes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced a new vision for engagement with the Global South.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C) with his Mauritian counterpart Navin Ramgoolam (R) during national day celebrations of Mauritius in Port Louis. (AFP)

The two nations outlined a joint vision for the strategic partnership, which includes settling trade in local currencies to reduce risks in bilateral trade, closer space collaboration—such as launching a satellite for Mauritius—and boosting defense and security ties, including the provision of military equipment and joint maritime surveillance.

A decade ago, Modi introduced India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision during his visit to Mauritius. Now, he has unveiled MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) for India’s engagement with the Global South. This vision covers everything from trade and development to shared security, technology exchange, and concessional loans and grants.

On the final day of his two-day visit to Port Louis, Modi attended the National Day celebrations as the chief guest. An Indian military contingent participated in the ceremonial parade, while Indian Navy helicopters were featured in the fly-past.

“Today, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and I decided to elevate the India-Mauritius partnership to an enhanced strategic partnership,” Modi stated following his discussions with the Mauritian leader. Keeping in mind China's growing maritime presence in the Indian Ocean, he emphasized the significance of defense cooperation between both parties to uphold regional security.

“The Prime Minister [Ramgoolam] and I agree that defence cooperation and maritime security are key pillars of our strategic partnership. A free, open, secure and safe Indian Ocean is our common priority,” Modi stated while speaking in Hindi.

Ramgoolam stated that Mauritius has gained from India's assistance in its socioeconomic development, and the newly established agreements across various sectors, including maritime traffic monitoring, crime investigation, infrastructure, and commerce, will further strengthen the “already excellent bilateral relations.”

“Our shared vision is to increase our cooperation in existing and emerging sectors such as space research, artificial intelligence, digital health, ocean economy, pharmaceuticals, ICT, fintech and cyber-security,” Ramgoolam said.

Modi stated that the new MAHASAGAR vision will expand upon the SAGAR initiative, particularly in strengthening engagement with the Global South. “It shall encompass the ideas of trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth and mutual security for a shared future. Under this, we will extend cooperation through technology-sharing, concessional loan and grants,” he said.

In the course of his country’s discussions with the UK over control of the Chagos Islands, Ramgoolam conveyed his “profound gratitude for India’s unwavering support in Mauritius’s long-standing fight to assert full sovereignty over its entire territory” and expressed thanks to Modi for his “crucial role” in this matter.

Modi added, “We fully respect the sovereignty of Mauritius with regard to Chagos. We will extend our cooperation through forums such as the Colombo Security Conclave, Indian Ocean Rim Association and Indian Ocean Conference.”

Last year, Britain announced its intention to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, with the condition that the UK and the US retain a strategic military base on Diego Garcia. However, a final agreement has been delayed as the government led by Ramgoolam, following the November elections, decided to revisit the issue. India has consistently supported Mauritius's claim over the Chagos Islands.

The two nations finalized eight agreements, including one between the Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Mauritius for a framework to use local currencies in trade settlements, and a credit facility agreement between the Mauritian government and the State Bank of India. The latter involves a ₹487.6 crore Indian rupee-denominated credit line aimed at improving water supply in Mauritius. This marks the first Indian rupee-based credit line for any country.

The joint vision document stated that a protocol to amend the bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement will be ratified “as soon as possible to align with international standards on treaty abuse.” India has completed the process, while it is still ongoing on the Mauritian side.

Both nations also pledged to promote investments in the ocean economy, pharmaceuticals, IT, and fintech to aid Mauritius in diversifying its economy. Ramgoolam encouraged Indian businesses to view Mauritius as a gateway to trade opportunities in Africa.

In the defense and security sector, the two sides signed a technical agreement for sharing white shipping information between the Indian Navy and the Mauritian government to enhance maritime domain awareness. An MoU was also signed between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and the Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office on maritime zone management.

“We are committed to providing our full support for the security of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Mauritius. In this regard, we will extend every possible assistance to meet the needs of the Coast Guard,” Modi said. India will also support Mauritius in establishing a police academy and a national maritime information-sharing center, he stated.

The joint vision document outlined India's and Mauritius's commitment to addressing maritime challenges and protecting broader strategic interests. It stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart, Navin Ramgoolam, agreed on the provision of defense and maritime equipment to Mauritius, alongside enhanced cooperation through increased deployment of ships and aircraft for joint maritime surveillance.

India has previously supplied helicopters and naval vessels to Mauritius's security forces. The document emphasized a deepened partnership in securing Mauritius’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), leveraging upgraded facilities on Agalega Island.

Additionally, India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Mauritius’s Financial Crimes Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to combat financial crimes. This collaboration will include intelligence-sharing and technical support to address corruption and money laundering.

In the space sector, both nations will work together to develop and launch a satellite for Mauritius, with training for Mauritian scientists. They will also collaborate on an initiative, led by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the Quad framework, to help Mauritius monitor extreme weather events.

Modi underscored India’s role as a first responder in the Indian Ocean region and a provider of development assistance. He and Ramgoolam inaugurated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation, a health center, and 20 community projects funded by India.

Following India's contributions to the Metro Express, Supreme Court building, and social housing, Modi announced plans to support the construction of a new parliament building and launch additional community projects valued at 500 million Mauritian rupees.

Over the past decade, India has extended $1.1 billion in development assistance to Mauritius, including $729 million in credit lines and $427 million in grants.

(This Article was originally published by Hindustan Times)