Port Louis/New Delhi: India and Mauritius inked eight MoUs, including on the use of local currencies for trade, and on sharing of White Shipping information between their navies, following talks between PM Modi and his Mauritius counterpart Navin Ramgoolam in Port Louis.
Prime Minister Modi also announced India’s support for setting up of a new Parliament Building in Mauritius, and Phase-II of High Impact Community Development projects to further enhance the development partnership.
The agreements inked today are:
1. Agreement between Reserve Bank of India and the Bank of Mauritius for the Establishment of a Framework to Promote the Use of Local Currencies (INR or MUR) for Cross-border Transactions. The objective of this Agreement is to promote use of local currencies for current account and capital account transactions, encourage direct exchange rate quotation, encourage setting up INR clearing centre in Mauritius Automated and Clearing System, extend INR clearing centre to COMESA – Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa -countries. This will enhance trade between two countries using local currencies.
2. Credit facility agreement between Mauritius (as borrower) and State Bank of India (as lending bank). Through this credit facility arrangement, SBI (lending bank) shall be extending a Line of Credit to the tune of INR 487.6 crore to the Borrower for the purpose of financing the ‘Water Pipeline Replacement Project’ in Mauritius.
3. MoU between the Ministry of Industry, SME and Cooperatives (SME division) of Mauritius and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises of India on cooperation in the field of micro, small and medium enterprises. This aims to strengthen cooperation, inter alia, in capacity building, exchange of experts, and organizing exhibition in MSME sector. The MoU will also aim to carry out surveys and feasibility studies to identify thrust areas and opportunities for development of SMEs. It will also provide a framework for training, exchanging business missions and technical assistance to organisations.
4. MoU Between the Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, Ministry Of External Affairs, India, And Ministry Of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration & International Trade, Mauritius. To augment capacity building of Mauritian diplomats at SSIFS. It also envisages to promote contacts and exchange of diplomats, faculty members and experts.
5. MoU between Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms (MPSAR), Mauritius and National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, India. Undertake training of 500 Mauritian Civil Servants over five years at the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG). Training will focus on Senior leadership, middle management and technical officers from Mauritius.
6. Technical Agreement on sharing of White Shipping Information between Indian Navy and Government of Mauritius. This MOU will enhance Mauritius’ maritime security, trade safety, and regional cooperation by enabling real-time sharing of data, preventing illegal activities, and improving Maritime domain awareness in the region. The MoU establishes policies for the conduct of information sharing and reciprocal protection of information, relating to white shipping, between the Mauritius Police Force and the Indian Navy (IN).
7. MoU between Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Ministry of Earth Sciences, GoI and Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), Department of Continental Shelf, Maritime Zones Administration and Exploration (CSMZAE), Mauritius. This MoU establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation on ocean observation, research, and information management, enhancing maritime zone management in Mauritius through ocean modelling, capacity building, and training initiatives. Areas of cooperation will also include providing access to latest technologies, collaborating on best practices, capacity building in ocean services including data management, remote sensing, ocean modelling, collaboration in field of ocean observations among others.
8. Memorandum of Understanding between Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Financial Crimes Commission of the Republic of Mauritius (FCC). This aims at providing intelligence and technical assistance cooperation on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering activities. It will also help in identifying emerging trends, knowledge exchange and adapting to evolving methodologies.
The Projects handed over:
Inauguration of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation, Mauritius Area Health Centre at Cap Malheureux and 20 High Impact Community Development Projects .
Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation: Funded through a grant of USD 4.74 mn under a 2017 MoU, the state-of-the-art facility will cater to the training needs of Mauritian civil servants across ministries, public offices, parastatal bodies, and government enterprises. Beyond training, the institution aims to serve as a center of excellence in public administration, fostering research and governance studies.
Area Health Centre at Cap Malheureux: The facility will augment the primary health care services around the region and enhance the well-being of the people of Mauritius.
High Impact Community Development Projects: GOI is implementing a total of around 96 community development projects all across Mauritius under grant assistance of MUR 400 million (approx INR 75 crore). These projects which include mini-soccer playgrounds, Volleyball pitches, jogging tracks, a children’s garden etc aim to create community-level infrastructure in education, healthcare, public amenities, and sports.
Twenty such projects were inaugurated by both PMs today.
Handover :
1. Handover of a Navigational Chart on St Brandon Island prepared following hydrography survey by Indian Naval Ship.
Announcements:
During the visit Prime Minister Modi also announced India’s support for setting up of a new Parliament Building in Mauritius, and Phase-II of High Impact Community Development projects to further enhance the development partnership.
LIST OF PROJECTS INAUGURATED
1. Construction of Health Track and Children’s Garden at Morcellement St. André inclusive of low-level fencing
2. Construction of new Children’s playground at Batimarais
3. Repainting handrails at NHDC, Camp Levieux
4. Upgrading of children`s playground at Stanley pre-primary school
5. Upgrading of children’s playground at Camp Levieux – Centre de l`Unité
6. Upgrading of children`s playground at Plaisance pre-primary school
7. Renovation of the children’s playground next to the Plaisance mini soccer pitch
8. Upgrading of children’s playground at Lois Levieux pre-primary school, Camp Levieux
9. Upgrading of children`s playground at Stanley mini soccer pitch
10. Upgrading of cemetery, janaza platform at L’Escalier
11. Upgrading of Existing Children’s Garden and Greenspace at EDC, Camp Diable
12. Upgrading of football pitch at Trèfles into a synthetic football pitch
13. Construction of a Mini Soccer Pitch at Morcellement Ilois,
14. Fencing and Painting SILWF, Gris Gris (Souillac)
15. Construction of Mini Soccer Pitch at Mont Ida
16.Upgrading of Village Hall at La Flora
17.Fencing of Children’s playing garden (50 x75 ft) (St Aubin)
18.Upgrading of market fair (Riviere des Anguilles)
19. Upgrading of existing Green Space to foot-five and kids amenities and outdoor gym with lights (Cemetery Road, Trois Bras, Surinam)
20.Upgrading/ Uplifting of Community Centres and Refugee Centres – (Disaster Risk Reduction) Prime Minister’s Office (Rodrigues, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity Division)
Total value of projects MUR 35.2 mn/ INR 6.63 crore.
UNI
