India’s development cooperation does not come with political conditions, says PM Modi

The building is the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis to be inaugurated after the Covid-19 pandemic. The project has been completed with a grant assistance of USD 28.12 million from the government of India.

PM Narendra Modi jointly inaugurates the Supreme Court building in Port Louis along with his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Jugnauth, through video conference in Delhi. (ANI)

In an oblique reference to China’s debt-trap diplomacy in the region, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that India’s development cooperation does not come with any conditions and is not influenced by political or commercial considerations, as he — along with Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth — jointly inaugurated the new Supreme Court building in Mauritius.

“India’s approach to development is mainly human-centric. We want to work for the welfare of humanity. History has taught us that in the name of development partnerships, nations were forced into dependence partnerships. It gave rise to colonial and imperial rule. It gave rise to global power blocks. And, humanity suffered,” Modi said on Thursday.

“India is making development partnerships that are marked by respect, diversity, care for the future, and sustainable development. For India, the most fundamental principle in development cooperation is respecting our partners. This sharing of development lessons is our only motivation. That is why our development cooperation does not come with any conditions. It is not influenced by political or commercial considerations,” he said at the inauguration through a video-conference.

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The building is the first India-assisted infrastructure project within the capital city of Port Louis to be inaugurated after the Covid-19 pandemic. The project has been completed with a grant assistance of USD 28.12 million from the government of India.

Mauritius PM Jugnauth expressed his deep appreciation for India’s support for the project as reflective of the close ties.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

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