Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on Prime Minister's State visit to Mauritius (March 08, 2025)
India - Ministry of External Affairs
March 08, 2025
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening, friends. I welcome you to this special briefing on Prime Minister's upcoming State visit to Mauritius. We have with us Foreign Secretary Shri Vikram Misri. We also are joined by Shri Puneet Agrawal, Additional Secretary, IOR, Ministry of External Affairs. With that, I invite Foreign Secretary sir to make his opening remarks. Sir, over to you.
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: Thank you, Randhir. Good afternoon to all of you. Thank you all for coming out on a Saturday afternoon. I thought we would share some pointers on the State visit that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be undertaking to Mauritius next week.
As you are probably aware, the Prime Minister will be travelling to Mauritius on the 11th and 12th of March, 2025. This is the first visit to Mauritius by the Prime Minister since 2015, when he was there last. Our relations with Mauritius are, of course, rooted in shared history, culture and a very strong and robust people-to-people relationship that goes back several centuries.
Mauritius is also one of our key partners in the Indian Ocean. It is a close maritime neighbor. You would recall, for instance, that it was in Mauritius in 2015 that the Prime Minister had articulated Vision SAGAR, Security and Growth for all in the Region, which underscored India's commitment to the Indian Ocean region.
With Mauritius, there is also a very strong development partnership. We have been privileged to have been a preferred development partner for Mauritius and have undertaken several economic development and capacity building initiatives in Mauritius. India has also extended HADR support and provided necessary assistance in the augmentation of defense and maritime capabilities of Mauritius.
In the last 10 years, the relationship has deepened significantly and today, indeed, the India-Mauritius relationship forms a very, very important pillar of our Vision SAGAR. You would also be aware that following the elections that were held in November of 2024, a new government led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam has taken office. Prime Minister Modi was the first world leader to call him and congratulate him on his electoral victory.
The visit next week will therefore provide an occasion for early engagement between the two leaders. It will come right in the beginning of a fresh term of office for Prime Minister Ramgoolam and of course, Prime Minister Modi also into his third term of office. So, the visit is indeed a very timely visit and will enable both sides to take stock of bilateral ties and provide orientation to engagement in the coming months and years.
One of the highlights of this visit is that the Prime Minister is being invited also as the Chief Guest for the National Day celebrations of Mauritius, which will take place on the 12th of March, 2025. If I am not mistaken, in 2015 also, Prime Minister was the Chief Guest on the National Day in Mauritius. On the occasion of the National Day, a contingent of the Indian Defense Forces will participate in the celebrations.
There will be a ship from the Indian Navy that will be present in Mauritius for the occasion and in addition, the Indian Air Force's Aakash Ganga skydiving team will also participate in the ceremonies. In so far as the elements of the visit are concerned, Prime Minister will arrive in Port Louis very early in the morning of the 11th of March. He will receive a ceremonial welcome on his arrival.
He will visit the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden to pay homage to Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the former Prime Minister and the founding father of Mauritius, and also Sir Anerood Jugnauth, former President and former Prime Minister of Mauritius. Moving on to the other official engagements, the Prime Minister will call on the new President of Mauritius, His Excellency Mr. Dharambeer Gokhool, and this will be followed by bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Ramgoolam. It is expected that there will be meetings with other political leaders during the visit.
Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Ramgoolam will together inaugurate a few projects that have been implemented with Indian assistance and will also witness the signing of several MOUs on cooperation in the field of capacity building, bilateral trade, tackling of cross-border financial crimes and promoting small and medium enterprises. There will also be an interaction with members of the Indian community, friends of India and socio-cultural organizations in Mauritius during the visit. These engagements will be spread over the 11th and the 12th of March, and 12th March of course will be the main National Day celebration.
So that is more or less the elements of the visit, and some of the things that are likely to happen during the visit. Let me stop there and if you have any questions, I will try and answer those. Thank you.
Sidhant Sibal, WION: Sidhant from WION, Chagos has been an issue for Mauritius and last year we saw the pact being signed or announced by UK and Mauritius. So how much on that there will be a conversation during the Prime Minister's visit, do we expect the Mauritian side to brief on what is the update because there is a change of guard in Mauritius. So, if you can perhaps elaborate on that.
Ayanangsha Maitra: Excellency, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. Sir is it possible to elucidate if we have something with the Agalega base which is the defense capacity built by India. Also, if you can explain about the capacity building projects as well as the ones on the financial grounds. Thank you.
Rishabh Madhavendra Pratap, Times Now: Good evening, Rishabh from Times Now. Sir, Mauritius is part of Global South and a very prominent member of Global South. There is a persisting issue of tariff that is being announced around Global South as well. Will there be discussion on that as well? So, there is a sense of discomfort in Global South countries about the tariff from US being talked about. So, being a de facto spokesperson for Global South, will India be discussing that with Mauritius as well?
Krishna Mohan Sharma, Bharat Express: Sir, Krishna Mohan Sharma from Bharat Express. Mauritius is sort of facing a lack of skilled human resources. And we have ample of human resources. Is there any possibility that we will have a sort of talk or deal on exchanging human resources from India to Mauritius?
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: I think, Sidhant, regarding your question on Chagos, I think you are aware of ... in so far as India is concerned, our stance on Chagos. It is well known. We have supported Mauritius in its stance on its sovereignty over Chagos. And this is obviously in keeping with our longstanding position with regard to decolonization and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of our other countries. And its only fitting for us to articulate this support for partners such as Mauritius.
You are also aware that for quite some time there have been extensive discussions and negotiations that were held between Mauritius and the UK last year. The previous government in Mauritius was also involved with these negotiations, and certain arrangement had been arrived at. Naturally, after a new government has taken power in Mauritius, they have taken a relook at some of the provisions. Nevertheless, it is something that has continued to be discussed between Mauritius and the UK, and we understand that they have engaged each other quite intensively and have also, perhaps, arrived at a mutually acceptable deal on the subject. The details are really for them to agree on.
Of course, the additional element is that there has been a change in government in the United States as well which is in some senses also associated or affected by these discussions. Again, these are issues to be resolved between the concerned parties. We, for our part, have continued to support Mauritius and will continue to do so. I would imagine that during the visit there will be an opportunity perhaps for the Mauritius side to update us on any issues that might still be outstanding if there are any issues by that time. But for the rest, we continue to support Mauritius in its efforts to reach a mutually satisfactory and mutually beneficial deal with its interlocutors on this particular issue.
Insofar as the question on Agaléga was concerned, again I think it was on the previous visit of the Prime Minister in 2015 that an MOU had been signed on the improvement of facilities on Agaléga Island for sea and air connectivity. And pursuant to that MOU, these facilities were created on the island and last year in February the facilities were jointly inaugurated by the Prime Ministers of the two countries. The facilities have contributed to enhancing connectivity between the island and mainland Mauritius, and I must share with you that I saw and experienced firsthand, well in the sense that I was with Mauritian interlocutors last year and discussed with them their experience of a very devastating cyclone that had just gone through Mauritius and had particularly affected Agaléga quite badly. We had managed to mobilize our assets very quickly and utilizing and leveraging the facilities that had been created in Agaléga were able to deliver much needed assistance and relief material to the people in need on the island. There were sorties also that were conducted between Agaléga and the mainland to undertake additional relief operations. So, during my visit there, my interlocutors were extremely appreciative of the fact that it is the creation of these facilities that has allowed this kind of early and very quick response to take place, and to bring real relief to people who were affected by this disaster.
Of course, these facilities have also been assisting Mauritius in its maritime surveillance and patrolling of its vast Exclusive Economic Zone and in safeguarding the assets of its blue economy ecosystem from traditional and non-traditional maritime challenges. As you are aware, this is a region that is particularly beset by challenges of various kinds such as piracy, drug trafficking, human trafficking, etc. So, this is a facility which I think at the end of the day has already proven its worth and will continue to prove its worth for Mauritius.
Rishabh, your question on tariffs. Well, I mean, there is perhaps likely to be a general discussion on how different countries can react to this new narrative related to trade and tariffs that we see currently hitting the headlines. Obviously, there is no one-size-fits-all solution that is possible on this. Different measures are being taken for different countries and different countries are going to be impacted differently depending on the makeup of their economies, their current sort of situation in terms of trade. So, I would imagine that there would be a certain amount of discussion on this particular issue. Maybe we will be able to brief you after the visit on the content of these discussions and any understandings that might have been reached.
I think there was a question on the understandings we plan to reach on financial crimes ... combating financial crimes. This is a memorandum of understanding that is proposed to be concluded between the Enforcement Directorate and the Financial Crimes Commission of the Republic of Mauritius. It essentially aims at providing intelligence and technical assistance cooperation on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering activities and it will also help in identifying emerging trends, knowledge exchange, and adapting to new methodologies in this particular area. We will share more details with you once the final agreement has been signed.
Krishna Mohan ji, aapka sawal tha about lack of skilled human resource in Mauritius. Sahi, apne ek tarha se iss sawal ko pakda hain kyunki ye ek aisa issue hain jiske bareme baatchit chal rahi hain. Aur iss visit ke dauran to nahin, lekin humari aasha hain ki Mauritius ke saath iss baatchit ko aage le jaya jayega aur jo hum human resources aur skilled resources ke bare me jo aadaan-pradaan kar sakte hain, uske bareme aage baatchit hogi aur samjhauta hone ki bhi sambhawana aage hain.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Krishna Mohan ji, your question was about the lack of skilled human resources in Mauritius. You have rightly addressed this issue in a way because it is a matter under discussion. And though not during this visit, we hope that this discussion with Mauritius will be taken forward, and there will be further talks on the exchange of human resources and skilled resources, with the possibility of an agreement in the future.
In fact there is an MOU that we plan to sign between the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms of the Government of Mauritius and the National Center for Good Governance on the Indian side, essentially to undertake training of 500 Mauritian Civil Servants over five years at the National Center for Good Governance and it will focus on senior leadership and middle management and technical officers from Mauritius.
Huma Siddiqui, Financial Express: Sir you talked about the defense and maritime security, so will there be any discussion between expanding that cooperation; and also there was some talk of opening hospital and under Janaushadhi. So, if you can talk about that?
Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Good evening Foreign Secretary, this is Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. My question is sort of related on this defence and maritime security, given that Mauritius has signed the Colombo Security Conclave Charter and is a part of these various regional organizations that India is a part of. So how do you see that proceeding from the Prime Minister's visit, especially the Colombo Security Conclave in that sense? Could you give us a sense of whether that's going to be discussed and how that will proceed forward? Thank you.
Sumita Kareer, ET: Sumita from ET Now. I want ... if you could perhaps elucidate a bit more on the development partnership and what India is looking forward specifically with respect to trade and economic partnership. And secondly, Sir, it's a follow-up question to what you said that there's likely going to be a general discussion on how different countries are reacting to the new narrative that's related to trade and tariffs. Just wanted to clarify and get India's position on that, if you could perhaps elucidate a bit more on that.
Srinjoy Chowdhury, Times Now: Sir, regarding additional security cooperation with Mauritius, especially in the naval area, do you see the possibility of having either sharing an OPV or a similar ship or ensuring that one stays in that Port Louis area in the near future?
Mukesh: Sir, Rishabh ka sawal aage le jana chahta hoon. Aapne kaha ki tarrif ko le kar ki all size cannot fit all, toh kya ye maan kar chala jaye, aap ye bol rahe hain ki tarrif should not be weaponised aur ye sirf bilateral agreement hona chahiye.
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I want to take Rishabh's question forward. You said that when it comes to tariffs, one size cannot fit all. So, should it be understood that you are saying tariffs should not be weaponized and should only be based on bilateral agreements?
Neeraj Dubey, Prabha Sakshi: Sir, Namaskar. Main Neeraj Dubey from Prabha Sakshi se. Sir mera sawal ye hain ki sir 2015 ka jo Pradhan Mantri ji ka visit tha Mauritius ka us samay unhone SAGAR vision ki jo ghoshna ki thi usko aage badhane ke liye is visit mei kya hain sir?
[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Namaskar. I am Neeraj Dubey from Prabha Sakshi. My question is, regarding the 2015 visit of the Prime Minister to Mauritius, during which he announced the SAGAR vision—what steps are being taken in this visit to further that vision?
Sudhi Ranjan Sen: Thank you, sir, for allowing me. Foreign Secretary, if you could give us an understanding on the remarks that have come from President Trump on tariffs, since you're answering questions on tariffs. He has kind of indicated that India has kind of agreed to pull down tariffs. If there is an understanding you could give us.
Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary: All right. I think here the questions are largely in two baskets of defence, maritime cooperation, Sagar, etc., and on development partnership and trade-related questions. So, on the defense and maritime security side, I think there is already a lot that we have accomplished together with Mauritius in terms of contributing to its maritime safety and security-related issues.
During the current visit, we expect to sign a technical agreement on sharing white-shipping information between the Indian Navy and Mauritius authorities. It will further enhance maritime security of Mauritius, safety of its trading corridors, and enhance regional cooperation in real-time sharing of data. It will enable Indian authorities and Mauritius authorities to cooperate in preventing illegal activities, improve Mauritius' maritime domain awareness in the region.
So, this will involve not just the Indian Navy, but also the Mauritius police force in an effort to combat these kinds of activities. There is an allied MOU that will be signed between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Prime Minister's office from the Mauritius side, which also establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation on ocean observation, research and information management, and enhancing maritime zone management in Mauritius.
This will involve a lot of technical activities such as ocean modeling and focus on capacity building and training in this particular area. There will be engagement on the latest technologies, collaboration on best practices, data management, remote sensing, etc. We will provide details of this once this is done between the two sides.
On the related question of a platform in Mauritius, I think we have already provided Mauritius with a Coast Guard ship which was provided through a grant as well as loan assistance, the CGS Barracuda, and then through a soft loan, another platform which is the CGS Victory. And in addition, there is a whole bunch of fast interceptor craft that were also provided to Mauritius. So, I think we have been providing them with these kinds of assets and if there is a need felt for more to be done in this regard, we would be ready to examine those proposals as well.
On development partnership in general, the consolidated portfolio of development assistance to Mauritius just in the last decade is nearly $1.1 billion. Of this, about $729 million is through lines of credit and nearly $427 million is through outright grant assistance. The bouquet of projects that has been executed contains everything from three phases of the Metro Express. This is one of the most striking things that you can see across the Mauritian landscape today. An ENT hospitals, social housing units, the Supreme Court building, Civil Service College, which is going to be, I think, inaugurated during the coming visit. I think Huma had a question on health related issues. So, there is an area health center that will also be inaugurated during the coming visit. There is a scheme under which e-tablets were provided for school children, firefighting pumps, medical clinics, solar projects and I have already mentioned what we have done in terms of the naval and coast guard assets that we have provided. So, essentially there is a very wide spectrum of development cooperation related projects that has been done, and we are continuing to work on other projects now in the run-up to the visit as well.
Insofar as the questions related to trade and tariff are concerned, I know there is a lot of interest in the statements coming out of the United States. I will not get into that at this point in time because these are ongoing discussions. So, it would not be right to get into it. But I would only point you towards the fact that we have in recent times entered into bilateral trade agreements which are based on tariff liberalization with several partners. There are ongoing discussions with several other partners on these issues now and I think the ongoing discussions should be seen in that context as well.
So, I think that is our general approach and I think it applies to any such engagement that we have with any country on these issues, on potential trade agreements, etc.
And Neeraj ji ka sawal tha SAGAR vision ke bare mei, toh jaisa maine kaha ki jo samzoute is yatra ke dauran kiye jayenge, technical agreement jo hain, white shipping information ke sharing ko le ke ye ek bahot mahavtapurna samzauta hain jo ki SAGAR vision ko aur aage le jane mei hamari madat karega.
[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] And Neeraj ji's question was about the SAGAR vision. As I mentioned, the agreements that will be signed during this visit, including the technical agreements, are very important. One such key agreement is the sharing of white shipping information, which will help further advance the SAGAR vision.
Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: With that ladies and gentlemen we come to close of this press briefing. Thank you very much. Please keep following us for more updates on the upcoming visits. Thank you.
New Delhi
March 08, 2025
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