PM heads to Mauritius, pacts on maritime security, tackling financial crimes on table

“At the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, I am embarking on a two-day State Visit to Mauritius to participate in the celebrations of the 57th National Day of Mauritius,” Modi said before leaving for Port Louis late Monday night, in what will be his second visit to Mauritius. He attended the National Day celebrations of Mauritius on March 12 in 2015 as well.

“Mauritius is a close maritime neighbour, a key partner in the Indian Ocean, and a gateway to the African Continent. We are connected by history, geography and culture. Deep mutual trust, a shared belief in the values of democracy, and celebration of our diversity are our strengths. The close and historical people-to-people connect is a source of shared pride. We have made significant strides in the past ten years with people-centric initiatives,” he said.

An Indian Naval Ship will make a port call at Port Louis to mark the occasion of Modi as the Chief Guest at Mauritius National Day celebrations. A marching contingent from the Indian Navy along with an Indian Navy helicopter, Akash Ganga Skydiving Team from the Indian Air force and a team of NCC cadets will also participate in the celebration.

Sources said that the visit will strengthen cooperation in the areas such as development partnership, capacity building, maritime security, health, small and medium enterprises, and financial and trade connectivity.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said in a briefing about the visit: “Following the elections that were held in November of 2024, a new government led by Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam has taken office. Prime Minister Modi was the first world leader to call him and congratulate him on his electoral victory.”

“The visit… will therefore provide an occasion for early engagement between the two leaders. It will come right in the beginning of a fresh term of office for Prime Minister Ramgoolam and of course, Prime Minister Modi also into his third term of office. The visit… will enable both sides to take stock of bilateral ties and provide orientation to engagement in the coming months and years,” he said.

The Prime Minister will reach Port Louis early Tuesday. He will visit the Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam Botanical Garden to pay homage to Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, the former Prime Minister and the founding father of Mauritius, and also Anerood Jugnauth, former President and former Prime Minister of Mauritius.

Prime Minister Modi will also call on the new President of Mauritius, Dharambeer Gokhool, which will be followed by bilateral meetings with Prime Minister Ramgoolam. It is expected that there will be meetings with other political leaders during the visit.

Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Ramgoolam will together inaugurate a few projects that have been implemented with Indian assistance and will also witness the signing of several MOUs on cooperation in the field of capacity building, bilateral trade, tackling of cross-border financial crimes and promoting small and medium enterprises. There will also be an interaction with members of the Indian community, friends of India and socio-cultural organizations in Mauritius during the visit. These engagements will be spread over March 11 and 12.

Giving details about possible pacts, Misri said, “During the current visit, we expect to sign a technical agreement on sharing white-shipping information between the Indian Navy and Mauritius authorities. It will further enhance maritime security of Mauritius, safety of its trading corridors, and enhance regional cooperation in real-time sharing of data. It will enable Indian authorities and Mauritius authorities to cooperate in preventing illegal activities, improve Mauritius’ maritime domain awareness in the region.” This will involve not just the Indian Navy, but also the Mauritius police force in an effort to combat these kinds of activities.

He also said that there is an allied MoU that will be signed between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Prime Minister’s office from the Mauritius side, which also establishes a comprehensive framework for cooperation on ocean observation, research and information management, and enhancing maritime zone management in Mauritius.

On financial crimes, he said that there is a memorandum of understanding that is proposed to be concluded between the Enforcement Directorate and the Financial Crimes Commission of the Republic of Mauritius. “It essentially aims at providing intelligence and technical assistance cooperation on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering activities and it will also help in identifying emerging trends, knowledge exchange, and adapting to new methodologies in this particular area,” Foreign Secretary said.

On training, he said that there is an MoU that they plan to sign between the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms of the Government of Mauritius and the National Center for Good Governance on the Indian side, essentially to undertake training of 500 Mauritian Civil Servants over five years at the National Center for Good Governance and it will focus on senior leadership and middle management and technical officers from Mauritius.