 "PM Modi")
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth on Friday jointly inaugurated an updated airstrip, an ocean jetty, and six other community development initiatives developed with Indian assistance in Mauritius.
The new airstrip and St. James Jetty in the country's outer Agaléga Island, located 650 km away from the main Mauritius island, have been completed. The airstrip improves connectivity between the northern and southern parts of Mauritius and enhances the country's capabilities in marine surveillance and security, Jugnauth said.
"We are actively working to ensure security, prosperity, and stability in the Indian Ocean Region. We are cooperating together in all areas like monitoring of exclusive economic zones, joint patrolling, hydrography, and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief," Modi said. He added that Mauritius is a special partner under India's ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’ and Vision SAGAR.
Jugnauth stressed there has never been any agenda to transform Agaléga into a military base. He condemned the recent anti-India campaign that has begun in Mauritius.
Both countries have recently reiterated growth in bilateral ties. Modi said India has extended a credit line of $1 billion and $400 million worth of assistance to the people of Mauritius in the last 10 years. “India has always respected Mauritius’s needs and acted as the first responder,” the Prime Minister said, highlighting India’s long-standing support to the island nation, be it the Covid pandemic or oil spill.
Earlier this month, UPI and RuPay Card services were launched in Mauritius.
Jugnauth said Mauritius has become the first nation to adopt the ‘Jan Aushadhi Scheme’ which allows the sourcing of about 250 high-quality medicines from the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Bureau of India.
