India-Mauritius to enhance trade and maritime security

India and Mauritius on Wednesday elevated their relations to an enhanced strategic partnership and finalized eight agreements to step up collaboration in crucial areas such as trade and maritime security, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new vision for engagement with the Global South.

The two sides unveiled a joint vision for the enhanced strategic partnership that envisages trade settlement in local currencies to derisk bilateral commerce, closer collaboration in space, including the launch of a satellite for Mauritius, and increased defence and security cooperation, including provision of military equipment and joint maritime surveillance.

Modi, who unveiled India’s SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision during a visit to Mauritius exactly a decade ago, announced the vision MAHASAGAR or “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions” for India’s engagement with the Global South. This will range from trade for development to mutual security and cooperation in technology sharing and concessional loan and grants.

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

“Today, Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam and I decided to elevate the India-Mauritius partnership to an enhanced strategic partnership,” Modi said after his talks with the Mauritian leader. With an eye on China’s increased maritime activities in the Indian Ocean, he highlighted the importance of defence cooperation between the two sides in maintaining 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 said, speaking in Hindi.

Ramgoolam said Mauritius has benefited from Indian aid for its socio-economic development and the new agreements in a wide range of areas such as maritime traffic monitoring, crime investigation, infrastructure and commerce will enhance “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 said the new MAHASAGAR vision will build on the SAGAR initiative, especially for 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 context of his country’s negotiations with the UK for control of the Chagos Islands, Ramgoolam expressed “deep gratitude for India’s unflinching support to the long-standing struggle of Mauritius to exercise its full sovereignty over its entire territory” and thanked Modi for his “pivotal role” in this area.

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.”

Britain said last year it would cede sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius on the condition that the UK and the US could maintain a strategic military base on Diego Garcia. A final agreement has been delayed as the government formed by Ramgoolam after elections last November decided to revisit the matter. India has consistently backed Mauritius’s claim of sovereignty over Chagos Islands.

The two countries finalized eight agreements, including one between the Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Mauritius for a framework on using local currencies for trade settlement, and a credit facility agreement between the Mauritius government and State Bank of India for an Indian rupee-denominated credit line of 487.6 crore for improving water supply in the island nation. This is the first Indian rupee-based credit line for any country.

The joint vision document said a protocol on amending the bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement will be ratified “at the earliest to harmonize with international standards on treaty abuse”. India has already completed the process while it is still underway on the Mauritian side.

The two sides will also promote investments in ocean economy, pharmaceuticals, IT and fintech to support Mauritius’s efforts to diversify its economy, the document said. Ramgoolam urged Indian businesses to see Mauritius as a gateway for trade opportunities in Africa.

In the field of defence and security, the two sides signed a technical agreement on sharing of white shipping information between the Indian Navy and the Mauritius government to improve maritime domain awareness, and an MoU 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 assist Mauritius in setting up a police academy and national maritime information sharing centre in Mauritius, he said.

The joint vision document noted that India and Mauritius will work closely to counter maritime challenges and safeguard larger strategic interests, and said Modi and Ramgoolam had agreed on the provision of defence and maritime equipment to Mauritius and increased maritime cooperation through “increased deployment of ships and aircraft for joint maritime surveillance”.

In recent years, India has provided helicopters and naval vessels to the security forces of Mauritius and the joint vision document said the two sides will also deepen cooperation for securing Mauritius’s EEZ, including through enhanced use of facilities on Agalega Island that were recently upgraded by India.

India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Financial Crimes Commission of Mauritius signed an MoU on combating financial crimes, including intelligence-sharing and technical assistance to tackle corruption and money laundering.

In the space sector, the two sides will cooperate for the development and launch of a satellite for Mauritius, including training for Mauritian scientists. They will also work on a project to help Mauritius monitor extreme weather events that will be implemented by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) under the umbrella of Quad.

Modi also highlighted New Delhi’s role as a first responder to crises in the Indian Ocean region and provider of development aid as he and Ramgoolam inaugurated the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation, a health centre and 20 community projects completed with Indian funding.

After helping build the Metro Express, Supreme Court building and social housing, India will cooperate in constructing a new parliament building and launch new community projects worth 500 million Mauritian rupees, Modi said.

Over the past decade, India has provided US$1.1 billion as development assistance to Mauritius, including US$729 million through credit lines and US$427 million as grants.