Indo-Mauritian relations are not shaped by geo-polity but by a deep-rooted and rich tradition of shared religious, social, cultural, linguistic, educational and historical heritage. Diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius were established in 1948 as Mauritius maintained contacts with India throughout the periods of successive Dutch, French and British occupation. These can be traced back to the 1820s, when Indian workers began working at the sugar plantations in Mauritius.
Slavery was abolished by the British in 1834 and on November 2nd, the first batch of Indian workers were brought to Mauritius on the “Atlas” ship, as indentured labourers. Today, November 2nd is observed as “Aapravasi Day” in Mauritius. Between 1834 and early 20th century, approximately half a million Indians came to Mauritius and roughly 2/3rd of them settled there permanently. Today, 68% of the Mauritian population is of Indian descent.
Gandhi briefly visited Mauritius in 1901 and in 1907, sent Barrister Manillal Doctor visited to help the Mauritian Indian community organise themselves and lay the foundation for their struggle to obtain political and social rights. March 12, the day the Dandi March started, has been declared the National Day of Mauritius as a tribute to Gandhi. On the same day, in 1968, Mauritius also gained independence.
The first Prime Minister and Father of the Nation, Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam accorded centrality to India in the Mauritian foreign policy and successive Mauritian leaders ensured that India continued to occupy a significant position in Mauritian foreign policy and activities. High-level official visits have constituted a critical part of Indo-Mauritian bilateral relations. A wide range of MoUs and agreements have been signed between both countries across sectors like taxation, science and technology, environment, tourism, air services, medicine etc.
In the last forty years or so, India has extended multiple credit lines to Mauritius for assistance in developing infrastructure, skills, human resources as well as capacity building. During PM Modi’s visit to Mauritius in March 2015, a Line of Credit of $500 million was announced for the development of civilian infrastructure projects.Currently, eight Indian PSEs (public sector enterprises)are operating in Mauritius.
India has been the largest trading partner since 2007, the largest exporter of goods and services to Mauritius. India exports petroleum products, electrical machinery, textiles, cereals and pharmaceuticals to Mauritius and imports precious/semi-precious stones, pearls, steel, iron and optical, photographic and precision instruments.
India and Mauritius have been major investments and trading partners. Indian exports reach $1 billion annually while imports from Mauritius are usually valued at $10 million. The FDI (foreign direct investment) from India to Mauritius has been close 2 billion in Mauritian rupees in the last five years. Until recently, Mauritius was India’s top source of FDI, given a 1982 tax treaty that exempted Mauritian residents from paying capital gains tax on transfer of Indian shares. This treaty was amended in 2016 to check misuse of funds, due to round-tripping by Indians via Mauritius.
In order to woo investors, the Mauritian government has taken multiple steps, including the lowering of corporate tax to 3%, on income from exports, air/sea freight rebates on exports and a 8-year tax holiday will be offered to specific companies, for hi-tech manufacturing (medical devices, pharmaceuticals). A national e-licensing system has been introduced to ensure seamless processing of permits and single-point entry for the application, payment and determination of business licenses.
The Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, visited India, leading 400 high-level Mauritian delegates. He was the chief guest at the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and a guest of honour at the Republic Day celebrations. During a business interaction organised by FICCI, Confederation of Indian Industry and Assocham in Mumbai, the Mauritian PM announced that both countries are expected to sign a comprehensive economic cooperation and partnership agreement or CECPA soon, bolstered by strong will on both ends.
Since the revival of negotiations after two years, discussions have centered around the potential for growth of the Mauritian economy. Other areas of discussion included cooperation over bilateral development projects and new proposals for partnerships across critical sectors like health, disaster management and energy. The ways to expand collaboration in aspects of
“blue economy” were also discussed.
In terms of possibilities of collaboration in Africa, vis-à-vis the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, the Mauritian PM said that the country is crafting a strategy to position itself as a fulcrum for investors and tap into opportunities in Africa. “We have engaged actively in recalibrating our economy to position Mauritius as an international financial centre for foreign investments into entire Africa. Mauritius will offer companies the anchorage to manage their African operations in a safe jurisdiction.”
Thus, both countries are seeking to leverage their long-standing and time-tested relationship, grounded in strong emotional and cultural bonds, as well as strategic considerations, to evolve and strengthen avenues of collaborations for mutual economic and sustainable development.
India Outbound
January 31, 2019
source https://indiaoutbound.org/evolving-indo-mauritian-relations/
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