Mauritius, a small island off the coast of Africa is the only country in Africa with a Hindu majority. Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, who is on an official visit to India, has invited the Indian industrialists to make investments in the country. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is expected to be signed between both countries very soon to make bilateral trade and investments easy.
“There is a very strong will of both sides and without divulging any confidential information, I can safely say that we are on the same wavelength. The CECPA will be concluded pretty shortly,” said the Mauritius PM in his address to industry leaders. “Obviously there are a few items which need further negotiations. There are as usual sensitive goods, particularly for trading goods and even on that I am pretty confident that we will come to a conclusion soon,” he added.
The Mauritius PM also invited Indian companies to set up their headquarters in his country in an address to industry lobby groups like CII, FICCI, and ASSOCHAM in Mumbai. “See Mauritius not for what it is, but for what it can be. There are immense investment opportunities in Mauritius. The country’s jurisdiction remains attractive for potential investors, providing a safe and trusted regulatory environment,” said Jugnauth.
Mauritius is the most popular route for foreign direct investments in India. The country accounted for 32.81 percent of total FDI in the country from 2000 to 2016. The second largest source for FDI, Singapore accounted for less than half (16.30) of the total foreign direct investments in India. The total FDI from Mauritius in the first 16 years of the 21st century was more than 1 trillion dollars. India is the main source of import for goods and services for Mauritius since 2007. The country is station of National Command Control Communication Intelligence network of Indian Navy and India’s security grid including Coastal Surveillance Radar (CSR).
Mauritius PM also visited Kumbh Mela flaunting his country’s Hindu roots. Majority of the population of island nation including prime minister is Hindu. He took a dip in Ganga and prayed for stronger ties with India. 670,000 Hindus reside in the tiny and picturesque country, There are many Hindu Temples in Mauritius. A statue of Maa Durga in the country is measured at 108 feet, 33 meters high. This makes it the tallest Durga Mata statue in the world (surpassing Deshpriya Park Durgotsav in Kolkatta, India (80 feet high). Construction of this “jewel of Indian art” started in 2011, the funding came strictly from donations and nothing was ever sourced from public funds. The project required six years of hard work, meticulous designing and it was built by workers from India and local sculptors and engineers in conformity with Hindu scriptures.
The deeper ties with island nation will be beneficial for both countries. The security ties with Mauritius are important given increasing Chinese activities in the Indian Ocean. China’s string of pearls strategy in the Indian Ocean could be countered with deeper ties from island nations of the Indian Ocean like Maldives and Mauritius. Therefore, the country is important for India from a cultural, strategic and economic point of view.