Modi, Jugnauth jointly inaugurate, launch India-assisted projects in Mauritius

New Delhi, Jan 20: Cooperation between India and Mauritius, including in maritime security, has translated the vision of SAGAR – Security and Growth for All in the Region – into action, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday. Modi also said Mauritius is a prime example of India’s approach to development partnership which is based on the needs and priorities of its partners and respects their sovereignty.
He made these remarks after he along with his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually.
The two prime ministers also took part in a virtual foundation stone laying ceremony for two other projects — construction of a state-of-the-art Civil Service College and a 8 MW Solar PV Farm — also undertaken as part of India’s development support.
The ceremony included exchange of two key bilateral pacts — an agreement for the extension of USD 190 million Line of Credit from the Indian government to the Mauritian government for the Metro Express and other infrastructure projects, and an MoU on the implementation of small development projects. In his remarks, Modi said Mauritius is also integral to India’s approach to the Indian Ocean and recalled that it was in the island nation, during his 2015 visit, that he had outlined India’s maritime cooperation vision of SAGAR – ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’.
“I am glad that our bilateral cooperation, including in maritime security, has translated this vision into action,” he said. Jagnauth, during his address, broke into chaste Hindi several times and thanked India and its government for the development assistance it has been providing.
The Mauritian prime minister said that as gratitude for India’s support to the metro express project, his government has decided to name one of the major metro stations as ‘Mahatma Gandhi’ station. Modi underlined that India and Mauritius are united by history, ancestry, culture, language and the shared waters of the Indian Ocean. “Today, our robust development partnership has emerged as a key pillar of our close ties,” he said. Recalling the inauguration of the metro express project, the New ENT Hospital and the New Supreme Court building in Mauritius, Modi said he was delighted to know about the Metro’s popularity, crossing the 5.6 million passengers mark.
“We look forward to supporting the further extension of the Metro, under the 190 million dollar Line of Credit agreement exchanged today.
It is also a matter of satisfaction and pride for us that the New ENT Hospital has been instrumental in combating COVID-19,” he said. Noting that India-Mauritius cooperation during the Covid pandemic has been exemplary, he pointed out that under India’s Vaccine Maitri programme, Mauritius was one of the first countries it was able to send Covid vaccines to.
“I am happy that today Mauritius is among the few countries in the world to have fully vaccinated three-fourths of its population,” Modi said. (PTI)