Port Louis [Mauritius], March 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Mauritius saw the two countries sign partnerships across several fronts. These included exchanges to India via the Char Dham and Ramayana trail, cooperation on the development of curriculum for school education, a labour recruitment MOU, and the establishment of the Directorate of Science and Technology in Mauritius. Notably, PM Modi invited his counterpart to visit India.

During the two-day visit of PM Modi, political exchanges took place between India and Mauritius.

According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), PM Modi and Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ramgoolam acknowledged that their bilateral relations enjoy a high degree of trust and mutual understanding at various levels, complemented by regular high-level exchanges and visits between the two countries.

Noting that the participation of Mauritius as a Guest country under India's G20 Presidency had deepened engagement across all sectors, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to continue these engagements.

Notably, both leaders agreed to strengthen cooperation on sharing best practices on parliamentary proceedings and agreed to intensify interactions between Parliamentarians of the two countries.

On the front of cultural ties and people to people exchanges, the leaders agreed to further deepen the close bonds of friendship through several initiatives such as providing support to the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in preserving the documented records of indentured workers from India, including through specialised training and institutional support through the National Archives of India, strengthening diaspora engagement through Know India Programme, Connecting Roots, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, and scholarships and cooperate on research related to Girmitya's legacy, documentation of their contribution in strengthening people to people ties and promoting tourism and cultural exchanges through visits to Char Dham and Ramayana trail as well as ancient places of religious worship in India; and cooperating to expedite implementation of the MOU on labour recruitment to facilitate labour mobility between Mauritius and India.

As per the statement, the leaders noted that the Mauritius-India bilateral partnership in the domains of development, defence and maritime security, and people-to-people ties is a shining example of cooperation and sets a standard for bilateral partnership in the region.

Both leaders agreed to continue providing orientation and guidance towards elevating the relationship into an enhanced Strategic Partnership, which is mutually beneficial, caters to Mauritius's developmental needs, and contributes to shared objectives in the region.

PM Ramgoolam thanked PM Modi for his presence as the Guest of Honour at the National Day celebrations marking the 57th Anniversary of Mauritius's independence and the 33rd Anniversary of the Republic of Mauritius.

Upon the PM receiving the highest honour of Mauritius during his visit, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar wrote on X, 'Privileged to witness the conferment of the highest honour of Mauritius, the 'Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean' on Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi. The award is a testament to PM Modi's leadership and commitment towards a prosperous Indian Ocean Region. Also, it underlines the special bonds of friendship between India and Mauritius.'

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He also took to X to offer wishes to the people of Mauritius upon the celebrations of their National Day. 'Warm wishes to FM @RitishRamful, the Government and the people of Mauritius on their National Day. Honoured to join PM @narendramodi for the National Day celebrations in Port Louis today. Confident that our historic and special relationship will continue to progress and prosper', the EAM said on X.

https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1899703244806394267

During the visit, the PMO noted that PM Modi invited PM Ramgoolam to pay an official visit to India as soon as possible.

On the front of collaborations in the sectors of space and climate change, PM Ramgoolam conveyed his appreciation to the Government of India for its support towards the joint development of a satellite for Mauritius and acknowledged that this cooperation is a testament to India's unwavering support to Mauritius on its developmental journey.

The PMO noted that in order to further deepen cooperation in the space domain, India and Mauritius agreed to work closely towards successful development and launch of the India-Mauritius satellite, including requisite training for Mauritian scientists and experts at the Indian Space Research Organisation, support implementation of weather and climate forecasting system at different temporal scales, Wave Rider Buoys and Multi-hazard Emergency System in Mauritius to help it build a resilient disaster preparedness and response system, renew the ongoing cooperation between ISRO and Mauritius Research and Innovation Council (MRIC) on ISRO Telemetry and Tracking Centre in Mauritius; and pursue the proposal of the Government of India for a development partnership project aimed at utilising an Earth Observation Application and an interactive computing framework to enable Mauritius to monitor extreme weather events and study climate impact effectively, which will be carried out by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), under the umbrella of the QUAD.

In the area of health and education, both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to providing quality, affordable, and accessible health care benefits to the people of Mauritius. They appreciated the launch of the first Jan Aushadhi Kendras by India abroad in Mauritius and agreed to expand the initiative to various parts of Mauritius.

India and Mauritius agreed to work together in sharing expertise on drug de-addiction and rehabilitation, thereby addressing the challenges faced by Mauritius on account of an increase in drug-addiction and related social issues. They aimed to work closely with the National Drug Policy, Monitoring and Coordination Agency with expertise and support from the Narcotics Control Bureau of India.

Advancing the ongoing cooperation in the health domain, the two leaders further agreed to work closely towards the timely implementation of the Digital Health Office system in Mauritius, along with the deputation of a specialist from India, to aid the Government of Mauritius's endeavour to digitise health care services in Mauritius.

Underscoring the importance of cooperation in AYUSH, PM Ramgoolam appreciated the support extended by India for setting-up of an Ayush Centre of Excellence in Mauritius, he also thanked PM Modi for all the facilities extended by India to Mauritian patients undergoing treatment in India.

Notably, the leaders also welcomed ongoing discussions between the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and the Ministry of Higher Education of Mauritius on sharing expertise in developing school education curricula and agreed that such cooperation initiatives will augur well for deepening bilateral ties and strengthening institutional linkages in the field of school education.

They also agreed to strengthen India-Mauritius science and tech cooperation, which includes the preparation of a roadmap for the implementation of the National Science and Technology Strategy and collaboration on the establishment of the Directorate of Science and Technology in Mauritius. (ANI)