Eyeing robust ties, India & Mauritius ink 4 pacts

New Delhi, March 13

India and Mauritius on Wednesday signed four agreements to impart further momentum to the “robust” bilateral partnership. The MoUs were signed after President Droupadi Murmu held talks with Mauritian PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth in Port Louis.

Murmu is on a three-day state visit to Mauritius during which she presided over the country’s national day celebrations, held delegation-level talks with Jugnauth and e-inaugurated 14 community development projects, said the MEA. The two leaders “jointly laid in a virtual mode the foundation stone of the New Forensic Science Laboratory of Mauritius to be built with fund assistance from India”, it said.

A prominent MoU is between the GIFT International Financial Services Centres Authority of India and the Financial Services Commission of Mauritius. Another MoU between the UPSC and its Mauritian counterpart is for sharing experiences and expertise in public service recruitment. An MoU between the CBI and Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Mauritius has been inked for information sharing and capacity-building to combat corruption and money laundering. They also signed a protocol to amend the India-Mauritius Double Tax Avoidance Agreement. Speaking to the media in Port Louis, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra appreciated the special provision to grant an Overseas Citizenship of India card to the 7th generation of Indian-origin people in Mauritius.