India, Mauritius ink 8 pacts to boost ties

PM Modi announces new vision for Global South called MAHASAGAR

Port Louis: India and Mauritius on Wednesday elevated their ties to ‘enhanced strategic partnership’ and inked eight pacts to boost ties in several sectors, including maritime security, and promote trade in local currencies, even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled an ambitious vision for growth and security of the Global South.

On the second and final day of his two-day trip to Mauritius, Modi graced the national day celebrations of the island nation as the chief guest and announced a raft of development projects for the strategically-located country.

 The agreements inked after Modi-Ramgoolam talks will provide for promoting use of national currencies for cross-border transactions, sharing of maritime data, joint work in combating money laundering and enhancing cooperation in the MSME sector.

Following talks with his Mauritian counterpart Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Modi announced India’s new vision for Global South and named it MAHASAGAR or ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions’, a policy approach that came against the backdrop of China’s relentless attempts to expand its influence in the Indian Ocean.

 “We are committed to extending full cooperation in the security of Mauritius’ exclusive economic zone,” the Prime Minister said.

 In the meeting, Modi reiterated India’s continued support and assistance to Mauritius in augmenting its defence and security needs given the shared objectives of the two nations in the region.

The PM said a free, open, secure, and safe Indian Ocean is the common priority of India and Mauritius and that he and Ramgoolam agreed that defence cooperation and maritime security are an important part of the strategic partnership between the two countries.

 The two sides also unveiled a ‘joint vision for an enhanced strategic partnership’ that outlined the futuristic approach in expanding bilateral cooperation in a range of areas including in defence and maritime security, trade, health and education, and space and climate change.

The document noted that the two sides will enhance maritime cooperation through increasing deployment of ships and aircraft for joint maritime surveillance and hydrographic surveys.

 The unveiling of the ‘MAHASAGAR’ vision came 10 years after the Prime Minister announced during his visit to Mauritius in 2015 New Delhi’s SAGAR or Security and Growth for All in the Region policy that formed the bedrock for India’s engagement with the Indian Ocean Region.

“We have taken the SAGAR vision forward for the stability and prosperity of this entire region. Today, taking it forward, I would like to say that our vision for the Global South will be, beyond SAGAR – (it will be) MAHASAGAR that is “Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions”,” Modi said in his media statement.

 The new approach will focus on the spirit of trade for development, capacity building for sustainable growth, and mutual security for a shared future, he said.

In his remarks, Ramgoolam said Mauritius continues to benefit from Indian assistance for its socio-economic development, adding the two sides will continue to reinforce trade relations through the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement.