08.03.13 - india-mauritius bilateral relations

8/13/2019 08.03.13 - India-Mauritius Bilateral Relations

1/6

defimedia.info http://www.defimedia.info/news-sunday/society/item/28089-india-mauritius-bilateral-relations.html

India-Mauritius : Bilateral Relations

The visit o f Indian President Pranab Mukherjee as Chief Guest at our o f f icial celebrations marking the 45th

Independence Anniversary o f Mauritius and t he 21st Anniversary of the Republic, on 12 March 2013, is yet

anot her huge milestone in further cementing the special bond between Mauritius and India.

News on Sunday highlights the main events and features of the long-established Bilateral relationsbetween the two countries that started even before independence with the visit of eminent Indian

personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi himself and Manilal Doctor, among o thers . One of the hallmarks of

bilateral relations between India and Mauritius has been the regular exchange of visits at the highest level.

Presidential visits f rom India have taken place in 1985, 2001, 2006 and 2011 and f rom Mauritius in 1992,

1993, 1997, 2002 and 2013.

Vice-Presidential visits f rom India have taken place in 1991, 1994 and 1998. Vice-Presidents of Mauritius

have visited India in 1995, 2005, 2006 and 2009. From the Indian side Prime Ministerial visits have taken

place in 1970, 1976, 1982, 1986, 1992, 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2005. Prime Ministerial visits f rom Maurit ius

have taken place in 1969, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007,

2008 and 2012.

The Mauritius Prime Minister, Dr Navinchandra Ramgoo lam was on a f our-day State Visit to India f rom

February 6-10, 2012. He presided over two bus iness f orum meets in New Delhi (Feb 8) and Mumbai (Feb 9)

and was made Doctor Honoris Causa at the University of Kurukshet ra. Five Memoranda o f Understanding

(MoU) were signed in the areas o f Science and Technology, education, spo rts and youth, textiles and in the

set t ing up of a hybrid planetarium at RGSC. A new economic package comprising an LOC of US$ 250 million

and a grant o f US$ 20 million was announced during the visit.

President Rajkeswur Purryag paid a State Visit to India f rom January 3 to 10, 2013. He visited Bihar (where

he visited his ancest ral village of Wajitpur and was given a civic reception by the Government of Bihar) and

Tirupati. Thereaf ter, he travelled to Kochi where he was the Chief Guest at the 11th PBD Convent ion on

January 7-9, 2013. He was also awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman.
http://www.defimedia.info/news-sunday/society/item/28089-india-mauritius-bilateral-relations.htmlhttp://www.defimedia.info/


2/6

Projects undertaken by Indian companies in Mauritius

Some of the high-visibility Indian-ass isted pro jects in Mauritius include the Mahatma Gandhi Inst itute, the

Upadhyay Training Centre, the Jawaharlal Nehru Hospital, the Subramania Bharati Eye Centre, Rajiv Gandhi

Science Centre and the Rabindranath Tagore Inst itute. The most prest igious symbols o f recent Indian

ass istance are t he Cyber Tower at Ebene and the Swami Vivekananda Internat ional Conf erence Centre

(SVICC).

Fortis Group has partners in local Clinique Darn. Apollo Hospitals in collaboration with the local British

American Investment (BAI) Gro up s tarted its operations in Augus t 2009. Agarwals Eye Hospital st arted itsMauritius operations on March 17, 2010. Ajanta Pharma and Parenteral Drugs India Ltd (which has taken

over the local facility, Mascareignes Co Ltd, Mauritius) bot h Indian companies- are engaged in the

manuf acturing of pharmaceutical products and cater t o t he needs of the local Mauritian market. Prime

Minister Ramgoo lam launched the Global Board o f Trade (GBOT) Commodities Exchange on October 15,

2010. M/s Suzlon is in the process o f set ting up a 29.4 MW wind energy project in Mauritius in partnership

with M/s Padgreen.

Credit Lines Extended to Mauritius

Transport vehicle manuf acturers such as Tata and Ashok Leyland have established their presence in

Mauritius through o penings provided by credit lines. Till 1997, the to tal credit extended by GOI to Mauritius

amounted to INR. 65 crores . In 2001, India extended a credit line of US$ 100 million f or the development and

promotion o f IT in Mauritius, part of which was used f or t he construction of the cyber-to wer at Ebne. An

amount of US$ 7.5 million was extended to the Mauritius s ide for completion of the Swami Vivekananda

Internat ional Conf erence Centre (ano ther US$ 7.5 million was provided by Government of India as an

outright grant f or this pro ject). The Of f shore Patrol Vessel (OPV) which will cost US$ 58.5 million is being

part ially f unded out o f the EXIM Bank LOC (US$ 48.5 million) and the remaining US$ 10 million f rom the

grant port ion. The o ther def ence procurements out of the grant were supply of ALH Dhruv on November 3,

2009 (US$10.424054 million) by HAL and Coast al Surveillance Radar System ( 2.46 million) in March 2011.

During the State Visit o f the Prime Minister to India in February 2012, a new economic package comprising

an LOC of US$ 250 million and a grant o f US$ 20 million was announced.

Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre (RGSC)

The Rajiv Gandhi Science Centre was set up with t he Indian assist ance in 2004 af ter a MoU was s igned in

1998 between the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) and the Ministry o f Education of Mauritius.

The Government o f India through the NCSM provided exhibits f or f ive galleries, an outdoo r science park, a

Mobile Science Exhibition and an inf latable planetarium. At the 10th Session of the Indo-Mauritian Joint

Commission held in December 2007 in Mauritius, the pro posal to set up a Hybrid Planetarium in the RGSC

premises and the extension of the exist ing building was made. The Mauritian side has earmarked land in the

present premises of RGSC for the construction of the planetarium and technical drawings have already

been sent to the Indian side. A MOU between RGSC and the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM)

was signed in February 2012 for set ting up a hybrid planetarium, renewal of exhibits, new exhibits , trainingof staf f ; f inancing arrangements at the RGSC. Under the MOU, an estimated 104.6 million Indian Rupees will

be made available to the NCSM by the MEA f or the abo ve purposes.


3/6

Cooperation in the f ield of Education

Nearly100 scholarships are extended annually to Mauritian students f or higher education in India. Another

200 Mauritian students enroll themselves in Indian Universities every year on a self - f inancing basis. The

Open University of Mauritius has institutional linkages with the IGNOU in terms o f curriculum development

and advocacy programmes. JSS Academy, BITS, Kurukshetra University and Amity University already have a

presence in Mauritius. The D.Y. Patil University is of f ering Pos t- Graduate Medical courses at the University

Technology o f Mauritius and the Amity University is of f ering distance education courses. An Indian

promot er is managing the SSR Medical College f or M.B.B.S. students. C-SAC [an inst itution set up as a joint

initiative of the University of Mauritius and the Centre f or Development of Advanced Computing (C-

DAC), an autonomous scientific society under the Department of Information Technology, Government of

India] is also of f ering IT-related courses in Mauritius in conjunction with the University of Mauritius. IGNOU

has helped the University of Mauritius f or sett ing the Open University of Mauritius.

Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI)

The Mahatma Gandhi Inst itute (MGI) was established in 1970 as a jo int venture between the Government o f

India and the Government of Mauritius for the promotion of Indian culture and education. Government of

India extended a one-t ime grant o f INR 50 lakhs and a recurring annual grant o f INR 5 lakhs to the Institut e

f or modernisat ion o f the MGIs Indian Studies programme. The MGI has an MOU with the Central Inst itute

f or Indian Languages, Mysore.

A Visit ing Chair of Sanskrit and Indian Philosophy between ICCR and MGI has been set up s ince January

2011 under an MOU signed during the visit o f EAM in July, 2010. An MOU is under consideration f or the

set ting up t he Annadurai Chair of Tamil Studies at the Mahatma Gandhi Inst itute.

Rabindranath Tagore Institute (RTI)

The Rabindranath Tagore Institute was established with the assistance of the Government of India in 2000

as a Centre of Studies of Indian Culture and Traditions and to promote education and culture generally.

The RTI has Departments of Drama, Indian Music and Dance, and Arts and Craf ts . It has a Permanent

Gallery on the lif e and works of Tagore (with the assistance of Rabindra Bhavan, Kolkata) and a Central

Library (with cont ribution o f Government of India and Rabindra Bhavan). The Inst itute has established anannual Tagore Memorial Lecture. RTI maintains close links with Shantiniketan. There is a move to upgrade

the RTI to the Rabindranath Tagore University.

Hydrography

A Memorandum of Understanding in the f ield o f Hydrography between India and Maurit ius was signed during

the visit of the Prime Minister of Mauritius to India in October 2005. The MOU provides for the promotion of

development and cooperation in the f ield of hydrography between the two countries. The t wo sides also

concluded the Protocol on the Sale of Nautical Charts in 2009 which allows for the sale of nautical charts

produced and handed o ver by India, to mariners in Mauritius.

In January-February 2006, the Indian Navy Survey Ship INS Sarvekshak undertook extensive hydrographic

work around the main as well as the out lying islands of Mauritius. In March-April 2007, INS Sarvekshak

carried out the second phase of the survey work around the Main Island and Port Mathurin in Rodrigues. In

March-April 2008, the Indian Naval Survey Ship INS Investigator was deployed in Mauritian waters to

undertake survey work in the Saint Brandon island area. In March-April 2009, Indian Naval Ship INS

Nirdeshak underto ok the survey of St Brandon, Black River Bay, Tamarin Bay, Grand Bay and Rivire des

Galets. INS Nirdeshak visited Mauritius f rom March 26-April 26, 2010 and conducted surveys o f the Saya de

Malha transect , remaining 30% of St. Brandon, Grand Port and Flic en Flac. With the help of Indian Naval

Hydrographic surveys, nearly 75% of Mauritian waters off its coasts have been surveyed, the only country

in Africa to have done so.


4/6

The data pertaining to Saya de Malha and other regions were used to substantiate joint claim of Mauritius

and Seychelles f or an additional EEZ of 396,000 sq km of Exclusive Econo mic Zone. Following the Seventh

Joint Hydrography Meeting held in Port Louis in February 2012, INS Darshak visited Mauritius f rom April 22-

May 17, 2012 to carry out survey tasks agreed upon during the Meeting. The Chief o f the Naval Staf f

Admiral Devendra Kumar Joshi visited Maurit ius f rom February 2- 7, 2013. An Insho re Survey Vessel

Pathf inder costing US$ 1 million was gif ted to t he Mauritian side during his visit.

Cooperation in Cultural Matt ers

Active cultural exchanges with Maurit ius take place both under o f f icially sponsored programmes andthrough a wide non-of f icial network of Indo-Mauritian socio-cultural organisations engaged in the task o f

keeping Indian culture and languages alive. Regular exchange of artist s and cultural troupes are undertaken

bot h within and outs ide the Cultural Exchange Programme. Promot ion of Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and

Urdu is actively followed up. Dr. Karan Singh, President , Indian Council f or Cultural relat ions (ICCR) visited

Mauritius and Reunion Island f rom September 30-Octo ber 3, 2012. He delivered the Mahatma Gandhi

Memorial Lecture at MGI, was conf erred a Honoris Causa degree by the University of Mauritius and unveiled

a bust of mathematician S. Ramanujan. The Indira Gandhi Centre f or Indian Culture (IGCIC) was

inaugurated in March 2000. The Centre has emerged as an important primary venue for cultural events in

Mauritius. The IGCIC holds classes in the disciplines of Carnatic Music, Kathak, Tabla and Yoga f or

Mauritian students.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Mauritius

The 6th Overseas Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention o r PBD Mauritius was held f rom October 26-28,

2012. The Prime Minister, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam inaugurated the Convention on October 27 while

President Rajkeswur Purryag was t he Chief Guest at t he Closing ceremony. The Indian Minister f or

Overseas Indian Af f airs, Shri Vayalar Ravi, visited Mauritius on October 26-27, 2012 in connect ion with the

event. Bihar, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Kerala were partner states. Bihar Tourism Minister Shri Sunil

Kumar Pintu, Rajasthan State NRI Department Head and OIFC delegat ion comprising FICCI, CII and

ASSOCHAM took part in the event. Several concurrent events leading up to the main Convent ion were held

including the India-Mauritius Business Round-Table, an Academic Conclave on the Indian Diaspora, an Art

Exhibition, a Stamp Exhibit ion, and a week-long Indian Film Fest ival.

Trade and Commerce

India is Mauritius largest trading partner and has been the largest exporter of goods and services to

Mauritius s ince 2007. As f ar as Financial Year 2011-2012 is concerned, Department of Commerce,

Government of India f igures indicates that India export ed goods wort h US$ 1.4 billion to Mauritius and

import ed goo ds worth US$ 39.13 million f rom Mauritius. Indias exports to Mauritius comprise largely

petro leum products. A three-year Agreement was renewed between the Mangalore Ref inery and

Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) and the State Trading Corporation of Mauritius for supply of all petroleum

requirements of Mauritius in July 2010. This agreement expires in July 2013.

Indian public ente rprises

Several Indian Public Enterprises have branches in Mauritius. The Bank of Baroda (BoB), Life Insurance

Corporation (LIC), and New India Assurance Corporation (NIAC) were the f irst to establish operations

f ollowed by ot her PSUs including India Handloo m House, Telecommunications Consultant India Ltd (TCIL),

Indian Oil (Maurit ius) Limited (IOML), Mahanagar Telephone (Mauritius) Ltd. and Stat e Bank of India

(Mauritius) Limited. The PSUs have cont ributed to various act ivities in Mauritius under the Corporate Social

Respons ibility (CSR) schemes.

Bilateral Agreements with Mauritius

India and Mauritius have signed a large number of bilateral agreements . Some of the important agreements

are:

Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (1982)

Bilateral Investment Promot ion and Protection Agreement (1998)


5/6

Agreement f or Cooperation in Inf ormation Techno logy (2000)

MoU on Cooperation in Biotechnology (2002)

MoU Concerning Cooperat ion in the Exchange of Finance Intelligence (2008)

MoU on Cooperation against Terrorism (2005)

MoU on Cooperation in the f ield of Environment (2005)

MoU f or Coo peration in the f ield of Hydrography (2005)

MoU for setting up a Preferential Trade Agreement (2005)

MoU on the set ting up o f Public Key Inf rast ructure (PKI) in Mauritius based on Indian PKI model

(2009)

Protocol on t he Sale of Navigational Charts (2009)

MoU between the Government of India and the Government o f Mauritius f or supply of the Coastal

Surveillance Radar System (2009)

MoU on Cooperation for Early Warning Arrangement for Coastal Hazards between The

Meteo rological Services, GOM and the Indian National Centre f or Ocean info rmation Services

(INCOIS), GOI (2010)

ITEC and Technical CooperationUnder the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC)

programme, 170 civilian and 100 def ence slot s are being of f ered to Mauritius in the Financial Year (FY)

2012-13. In addition, slots are allocated for various defence-related training programmes in institutions in

India. Approximately 20 Mauritian of f icials f rom various Minist ries/Departments including the Mauritius

Police Force, Road Development Autho rity, Central Electricity Board, Central Water Authority, and o thers

availed of the IAFS -1 Special Training Courses in FY 2012-13.

Cooperation in Information Technology

Information Technology has emerged as the one of the most prominent areas of technical coo perationbetween India and Mauritius. An Agreement f or cooperation between the two countries in the IT secto r was

signed in 2000. Some prominent Indian IT companies, such as INFOSYS, have established operations in

Mauritius. IT has also emerged as an import ant area in the t raining slots provided to Mauritius under the

ITEC scheme. Infosys has sponsored specialised training courses for Mauritian graduates at its campus in

Mysore, who were then employed at Inf osys, Mauritius. An Indian call centre 24 X 7 catering to the

Francophonie market has recruited Mauritian IT prof essionals f or its call centre in India.

Cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy

India and Mauritius s igned an MOU on Cooperation in the f ield of Renewable Energy in 2005 which set up a

JWG to discuss germane issues. Within the ambit of this MOU, delegations f rom the Solar Energy Centre

and Centre for Wind Energy Technology have visited Mauritius to conduct training courses f or Mauritian

technicians and experts. The Indian Minister of New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Farooq Abdullah visited

Mauritius in January 2012.

Textiles

A MOU on cooperation in the f ield o f Textiles was signed between India and Maurit ius in February 2012. The

f irst Joint Committee Meeting under the MOU was held in New Delhi on July 23-24. The 2nd Joint

Committee Meeting was held in Port Louis on January 28, 2013. Five inst itut ional-level MoUs were signed

along with a Letter of Intent outlining an implementat ion Plan for the measures announced by the Indian

Minister o f Commerce, Industry and Textiles during his visit to Mauritius on January 8-10, 2013 training

f or 1000 workers, 35 scholarships and development of a compliance code f or 10 f actories.

CLIQUEZ ICI POUR COMMENTER


6/6

08.03.13 - india-mauritius bilateral relations

Documents