$500m credit to Mauritius announced

India on Saturday announced a $500 million fresh Line of Credit to Mauritius as the two nations agreed to take the bilateral relations forward with renewed focus on maritime cooperation.

In addition, the two nations signed four agreements, including one on improving the maritime security in the Indian Ocean region, which has emerged as the world’s most important economic route.

“The agreement on a $500 million Line of Credit from India to Mauritius is a good example of our strong and continuing commitment towards the development of Mauritius. It will also help in the implementation of priority projects,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after meeting his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is in Delhi on his first foreign tour after assuming the office in January 2017.

The maritime security cooperation agreement would focus on securing the high seas from piracy threats as well as preventing drug and human trafficking, besides stopping illegal fishing. Modi said India would also renew the life of the Mauritian Coast Guard ship, Guardian, that was provided by India.

The cooperation and support of island nations like Mauritius, Seychelles, Maldives and Sri Lanka are essential for India to have an edge in the Indian Ocean region, where New Delhi is vying for supremacy with the growing Chinese naval power.

Jugnauth said the two countries enjoyed a strong bilateral cooperation in defence and security matters. With Mauritius being a popular tourist destination, the flag carrier airlines of the two sides agreed to enhance their code sharing arrangement to new destinations. This, too, is expected to lead to greater tourism and people-to-people contacts between the two nations.