Indian Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra is currently on an official visit to Mauritius from April 12-14 where he met with several key leaders and officials, conducting a review of the entire gamut of public relations. It is considered to be the Foreign Secretary’s first official visit to Mauritius whom India regards as a key partner and trusted friend under India’s ‘neighbourhood first’ policy and SAGAR vision for the Indian Ocean Region.
The Foreign Secretary called upon the PM Pravind Jugnauth on April 13 where both had fruitful discussions hinging on the special and unique ties existing between India and Mauritius that have translated into exceptionally close cooperation spanning across various fields. Both sides expressed satisfaction pertaining to the smooth running of ongoing projects such as Phase IV of the Metro, Civil Services College, 8 MW Solar Power Plant at Henrietta, Renal Transplant unit, Forensics Science Lab, National Archives & Library, Mauritius Police Academy, Community Development Projects, Mediclinic and Area Health Centres.
The Indian side welcomed Mauritius’ participation as a special invitee’ to the G20 under India’s Presidency in the 75th year of diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius, as a milestone in buttressing the bilateral partnership together with the recently agreed bilateral agreements spanning across the field of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Information and Broadcasting, and Employment of Workers.
The two sides also reviewed ongoing cooperation in diverse areas such as the Ayush Centre of Excellence (ACE), Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), Special Rupee Vostro Account mechanism for settlement of bilateral trade transactions and proposed launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Payment System and RuPay card in Mauritius.
The Foreign Secretary also held talks with the Minister of Land Transport and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration, and International Trade Hon Alan Ganoo centering on potential opportunities for India’s assistance in pharma and ICT sectors as well as greening the local Public transport sector. As part of his agenda, Shri Kwatra had delegation talks with Secretary to Cabinet Mr. Premode Neerunjun, Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mr. Joyker Nayeck as well as meeting senior leaders across the wide political spectrum where viewpoints were exchanged on bolstering the India-Mauritius ties.
The diplomat also had the opportunity to visit the iconic Mahatma Gandhi Metro Station at Reduit, which was unveiled on January 22, 2023 set against the context of the 75th anniversary celebrating diplomatic ties between India and Mauritius.
