High Commissioner of India Shri Abhay Thakur : “India and Mauritius have very strong economic linkages”

Abhay Thakur is in his second year posting as the High Commissioner of India in Mauritius. He has not only grasped the geo-political importance of our island but also the complexity of its multi-cultural roots and of its dynamism on the international front. In the context of the 68th anniversary of India Republic Day this 26th January, News on Sunday calls upon Abhay Thakur to talk about the importance of keeping strong bilateral relations between the two countries.

What is your assessment on India-Mauritius bilateral relations?  How far the agreements signed and projects earmarked have started implementation?
Relations between India and Mauritius today are stronger than ever.  In fact, the path-breaking visit by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Mauritius in March 2015 was one of the most significant initiatives towards further consolidation of our age-old, time-tested ties with Mauritius.  Much of what is happening today is a result of that visit.

Under the Special Economic Package (SEP) of USD 353 million, five major projects, namely the Metro Express, the Supreme Court Building, an ENT Hospital, Social Housing and Supply of digital tablets to primary school children, have already moved into the implementation phase.  The new building of the World Hindi Secretariat is nearing completion.  We have also agreed to provide grant assistance for the construction of a new Civil Services College in Mauritius. 

We were honoured to welcome the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Hon. Pravind Jugnauth to India in May 2017, on his first visit abroad after assuming office as Prime Minister.  A special concessional Line of Credit of USD 500 million was extended to Mauritius during the visit.  Under it, 15 new priority projects for Mauritius have been mutually agreed, and tendering action for several of them is underway.  So our relations, characterized by deep commitment to each other, are also seeing speedy implementation and realization of these commitments.

Has there been a slowdown in flow of investments from Mauritius because of revised DTAA? Should we expect changes in the future?
India and Mauritius entered into a new phase of economic cooperation following the revision of the DTAC in May 2016 and resumption of CECPA talks in September 2016.  CECPA negotiations are in an advanced stage and the 3rd Meeting of CECPA was held in Mauritius from 22nd to 24th January 2018.

The total FDI inflows from Mauritius to India during the period April-September 2017 amounted to USD 11.5 billion as compared to USD 5.9 billion during April 2016-September 2016.  Hence we see that there is no slowdown in investments from Mauritius to India.

Looking forward, the upcoming CECPA covering trade in goods and services, investment and large business linkages will be to our mutual benefit and usher in a new era of closer economic cooperation between our private sectors and businesses in particular.

What about Indian Cooperation with Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, for instance the Agalega project?
As you are aware, in March 2015, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mauritius, India and Mauritius had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for improvement of sea and air transportation facilities in Agalega.

I understand that upgradation of infrastructure in Outer Islands is a priority for the Government of Mauritius, which is something we are happy to cooperate with.

How much can Indian Economy impact on Mauritian economic growth?
India and Mauritius have very strong economic linkages.  As mentioned above, with the new CECPA, our economic linkages would be reinforced further and would be placed on a very strong foundation.  My Government is financing various projects in Mauritius, which would lead to creation of enabling infrastructure for sustained economic growth in Mauritius over the medium and long term.

The total trade of Mauritius for the period January-September 2016 was USD 5 billion of which imports were USD 3 billion and exports were USD 2 billion.  During the same period, Mauritius imported USD 558 million from India and exported USD 13 million to India.  The total trade of Mauritius for the period January-September 2017 is USD 5.4 billion of which imports were USD 3.7 billion and exports were USD 1.6 billion.

During the same period, Mauritius imported USD 621 million from India and exported USD 10 million to India. Mauritius is an established global luxury tourism destination and is very popular among Indian tourists.  About 82,670 Indian tourists visited Mauritius for the year 2016.  During the period January-September 2017, about 65,267 tourists visited Mauritius, which was a 5.2% increase over the corresponding period in 2016.

The liberalized OCI Card regime for Mauritians of Indian origin and their spouses, which has been in effect since March 2017, has further strengthened our economic and people-to-people level linkages.

The story of struggle and success of Indian indentured labourers who came to Mauritius in the 19th century is deeply entrenched in the history of Mauritius. The liberalized OCI Card regime for Mauritians of Indian origin and their spouses which has been in effect since 2017 is just one expression of this deep, emotional bond between the two nations.

In a recent speech, you mentioned “Two Countries and one People”.  Do you think that the majority of Mauritians have grasped what you wanted to say?
India and Mauritius share age-old bonds of kinship and family ties. ‘Hamaara rishta khoon ka rishta hai’. The people of Mauritius as well as those of India have always intuitively known that India and Mauritius are two countries but one people.

The story of struggle and success of Indian indentured labourers who came to Mauritius in the 19th century is deeply entrenched in the history of Mauritius. The liberalized OCI Card regime for Mauritians of Indian origin and their spouses which has been in effect since 2017 is just one expression of this deep, emotional bond between the two nations.

Is the fight against terrorism still a priority for India?
Honorable External Affairs Minister of India, Smt. Sushma Swaraj, said at this year’s Raisina Dialogue, India’s flagship Conference on geopolitics and geo-economics, that “terrorism is undeniably the mother of all disruptions today.

Terrorism anywhere can threaten societies everywhere.  The challenge is even more serious in a digital age, with greater propensity to radicalization. India has always urged greater consensus among countries for devising a global strategy to tackle the menace of terrorism.

When can we expect India to enter the exclusive team of the Security Council at the UN?
India has been a strong advocate of UN reforms to make it a “broad-based” organization reflecting contemporary realities. We believe that a non-representative Security Council is not equipped to handle current challenges of the world. We hope that a decision on UNSC expansion would be adopted soon, facilitating India’s entry.