Shri Rajesh Parihar: Director (XPD): Good afternoon, everyone. I welcome you all to this special media briefing on the ongoing visit of honorable President to Mauritius. And for that, I have the pleasure to introduce you, sitting on dais with me, Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary of India, Shri Puneet Agrawal, Joint Secretary for Indian Ocean Region, Ministry of External Affairs, and Ms. Navika Gupta, Deputy Press Secretary to the honorable President. With this brief introduction, now I would like to request the Foreign Secretary to brief on the visit. Sir.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much, Rajesh. Good afternoon to the friends from the media for this special briefing on the ongoing visit of honorable Rashtrapati ji to Mauritius. As you all know that honorable Rashtrapati ji is on a state visit to Mauritius at the invitation of the honorable Prime Minister of Mauritius. And she participated as a chief guest of the National Day celebrations of Mauritius, which were held yesterday.
Just to recall and refresh that this is the first outgoing VVIP visit from India to Mauritius since March 2018. You would recall that honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji had visited Mauritius in March 2015. This visit of the honorable Rashtrapati ji was of special significance because it comes in the context of the first full-fledged celebrations of the Mauritian National Day after a gap of five years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is also the sixth such state visit by an Indian dignitary as the chief guest of the Mauritian National Day since 2000.
You would recall that honorable Prime Minister of India had participated in the National Day celebrations of Mauritius when he had visited here in March 2015. And it was during that visit that honorable Prime Minister had announced India's and his vision of SAGAR, which is the security and growth for all in the region, essentially a vision which guides our engagements with partners in the Indian Ocean region, countries including Mauritius. You would be all aware that 12th March, the date marking both the Independence Day and Republic Day of Mauritius, was consciously chosen by the Mauritian leaders to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi since it was on this day that Gandhiji began his famous Dandi march. This fact alone testifies to the close, special and historical bonds that exist between India and Mauritius.
If I could briefly share with you some of the important programming elements of the ongoing visit of honorable Rashtrapati ji. On arrival on 11th March, honorable Rashtrapati ji was accorded a ceremonial welcome and was received with full state honors by honorable Prime Minister of Mauritius. Rashtrapati ji then held a meeting with the President of Mauritius, His Excellency Prithvirajsing Roopun, and discussed ways to further advance our exceptional and close relations between our two countries.
Later in the day, honorable Rashtrapati ji had a tete-a- tete with Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth and a banquet was also hosted in honour of honorable Rashtrapati ji by Prime Minister Jugnauth and Mrs. Kobita Jugnauth. During this banquet, honorable Rashtrapati ji also interacted with other key political leaders of Mauritius, as well as eminent members of the Mauritian Society and friends of India who were present there.
During her interactions both with the President of Mauritius and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, honorable Rashtrapati ji presented a RuPay card issued by the Indian banks, both one to the honorable President of Mauritius and the other to the Prime Minister of Mauritius.
On 12th March, Rashtrapati ji was conferred the degree of Doctor of Civil Law, Honoris Causa, by the University of Mauritius. This conferment was then followed by a metro ride to Mahatma Gandhi Station, which is among India's flagship development partnership projects in Mauritius. She thereafter addressed a civic reception at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, attended by members of the Indian diaspora and representatives of Mauritian social-cultural organizations that were present at the Institute.
On 12th March itself, after National Day celebrations at Champ de Mars, honorable President witnessed the flag-raising ceremony, a parade by the Mauritian forces and an Indian contingent, as well as cultural performances by the Mauritian artist. Prime Minister of Mauritius earlier today met with honorable Rashtrapati ji, during which both sides expressed satisfaction over the progress made in the relationship, assessed progress in our partnership across various domains, reaffirmed their commitment to further deepen the bilateral ties across all sectors, as well as between peoples of our two countries, which remain a special foundation of our relationship.
In terms of substantive outcomes during the visit and some of the announcements that you would have also heard, honorable Rashtrapati ji announced Government of India's support to supply 200 electric buses to Mauritius and redevelopment of the Ganga Talav area, which was warmly welcomed by Mauritian Prime Minister. honorable Rashtrapati ji is currently visiting Ganga Talav Heritage Area even as we speak.
honorable President also announced Government of India's decision that the special dispensation under which Mauritian nationals of Indian origin were eligible for overseas citizens of India cards, OCI cards, up to the sixth generation will now be extended to seventh generation Mauritians of Indian origin. honorable Rashtrapati ji and Mauritius Prime Minister today also laid the foundation stone of the forensic science laboratory project, which is being built with India's development assistance. They also virtually inaugurated 14 small development projects which are funded through Indian grant assistance.
Several important MoUs were exchanged in the presence of honorable President and the Prime Minister of Mauritius. These MoUs capture various segments of our bilateral cooperation across different domains such as public administration, avoidance of double taxation, financial services and good governance. Without going into the details, if I could just share broadly the thematic areas of cooperation in these MoUs. So the MoU, which is between the Union Public Service Commission of India and the Public Service Commission of Mauritius, talks of partnership in the field of sharing of experiences and the areas of recruitment and also developed institutionalized linkages between the two public service commissions.
Two, signing of the protocol to amend the India Mauritius Double Tax Avoidance Agreement to make compliant with base erosion and profit sharing minimum standards. You would recall that BEPS project, as it was called Base Erosion and Profit Sharing, was approved by one of the G20 meetings and this protocol essentially makes amendments to the India Mauritius Protocol on the Double Tax Avoidance to make it compliant with the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing Minimum Standards.
Third, the MoU between the GIFT city and Financial Services Commission of India. Essentially, this MoU will build on the foundations which were laid when the GIFT city and the Financial Services Commission signed an MoU in July 2017 and will facilitate our cooperation in the financial services sector including banking, insurance, capital markets and fintech. Fourth, is the cooperation agreement, MoU between Central Bureau of Investigation, CBI of India and Independent Commission Against Corruption, ICAC of Mauritius.
During her ongoing visit, honorable President also received several other dignitaries from Mauritius including the Leader of Opposition and leaders of other political parties. She also visited historical sites, one of them earlier today, Aapravasi Ghat, as part of her ongoing visit. Just now, we have come from a lunch which was hosted in honor of honorable Rashtrapati Ji by the honorable President of Mauritius and as I said, the honorable President is currently visiting the sacred Ganga Talav for prayers there, before she departs for India.
To recapture a sense of strength and substance in India Mauritius ties, our relations with Mauritius are special and historically unique dating back to pre-independence years, centuries old people to people ties and continued cultural interactions forms a very strong basis and foundation of this very special relationship. Mauritius is one of the very important components and segments of our priorities under India's neighborhood first policy, Prime Minister Modi's vision of SAGAR, as also India's priority focus on Africa. So, Mauritius in a sense lies at the convergence of these three major policy pillars that Government of India follows. There is also very regular, frequent and intense higher level political engagement between the leaders of the countries. Our Prime Minister, Prime Minister Modi Ji and Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth have interacted five times just in the last six months and key manifestation of the privileged and special relationship that India has with Mauritius was captured in Mauritius participation as one of the guest countries under India's G20 presidency. This really underscores the special relationship that India and Mauritius enjoy.
The visit of honorable President to Mauritius reflects the growing expanse of long-standing and trusted partnership between India and Mauritius. The visit reinforces the positive, continuing positive momentum and trends in our special relationship. And it also signals our shared and strong commitment to further intensify our relations with this important partner. I will stop here. And if there are any questions, we'll take them. Thank you.
Girish Nishana: Sir, namaskar. Sir, main Girish Nishana DD News se. Sir, abhi haal hi mei Mauritius ke andar UPI aur RuPay Card sevaon ke mahatva ke baare mei kya aap jankari de sakte hain? Aur kya ye Bharat aur Mauritius ke bich mei vittiy connectivity ko badhane mei kis tarah se madad karega?
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, greetings. Sir, I'm Girish Nishana from DD News. Sir, could you please provide information about the importance of UPI and RuPay Card services within Mauritius recently? And how will it assist in enhancing financial connectivity between India and Mauritius?
Unknown Speaker: Sir recently India aur Mauritius ke Pradhan Mantri ne jointly inaugurate kiya tha facility at Agaléga, Mauritius. Toh Sir usmai bata sakte hain aap ki woh project ko kis tarike se aage badhaya ja raha hai? Kya kuch usmai create kiya ja raha hai?
[Question in Hindi: Approximate translation] Sir, recently, the Prime Ministers of India and Mauritius jointly inaugurated a facility at Agaléga, Mauritius. Could you please tell us how that project is being further developed? What is being created as part of it?
Bhupen Singh: Sir, this is Bhupen Singh from All India Radio News. Sir, my question is India has been actively involved in supporting various developmental projects in Mauritius. Could you shed light on the impact and success stories of these projects, particularly in areas such as infrastructure, health care, and education? Thank you.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Infrastructure, health care, and?
Bhupen Singh: Education.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you. I think I'll take the last question first, because I think in many ways, your question captures the larger and overall sense of the complete spectrum, at least the major parts of the spectrum of India-Mauritius Partnership. If you look at the key points of the frame of reference of India-Mauritius Partnership, you will find that it is anchored first and foremost in the Mauritian priorities. So India's development cooperation template that we follow with any country, in particular the countries of the Global South, and especially the countries which are key priority areas under our Neighborhood First, under the vision of Prime Minister Modi of SAGAR, our development partnership, first and foremost, is anchored on the priorities of the receiving countries. So whatever are the priorities of Government of Mauritius is the driving feature of our cooperation projects. It is in alignment with this particular policy that if you analyze any of the projects that are ongoing in Mauritius, including the two specific projects which were mentioned in the two previous questions, one relating to financial connectivity and other related to the larger connectivity issue, they're all centered in that particular template. And these projects comply with that frame of reference to be based on the priorities of Government of Mauritius.
So if you look at, for example, Metro Express project in Mauritius, and if you have gone around the city, you would see that the Metro Express project is a very shining example of how infrastructure cooperation in urban areas, which is based on development partnership template, can actually be a strong driver of a city's planned urban growth. It is one of the flagship development projects that India has with Mauritius. As is obvious, it has provided very reliable, environment friendly, and highly urbanized transport system, which has, I'm told, become widely popular among the local population here in the city. Under our special economic package, you talked about infrastructure. We have implemented around 950 plus social housing units, educational projects like e-tablets for schoolchildren, new Supreme Court building, which was constructed and got ready in record time, is a classic example of infrastructure cooperation in the judicial domain. So it combines two spaces through this project. State of the art ENT Hospital. You talked of health care. Mauritius is the first country with which India has signed, India has agreed to build health cooperation under the Prime Minister Modi's Jan-Aushadi scheme. Essentially, it provides for quality medicines, generic medicines, at affordable prices for the masses. That's the concept and the specifics. We hope that, you know, we are confident that this would take off in a major way and will serve as a useful template of partnership with other countries also in the field of delivery of health governance, so to speak. Projects which spread across a wider section of the communities, Government of India is implementing 96 small communities development projects across Mauritius. And you would have seen that earlier today, honorable President inaugurated 14 of them in a ceremony with the Mauritian Prime Minister. And these projects, again, touch lives of common people in various areas. We are also currently constructing a new civil services college to train the public service officers of Mauritius. We are also assisting Government (inaudible) this is a traditional project to one renal transplant unit, one medical unit, and two health area centers. I can go on and on about various aspects of our partnership. But this broadly captures more recent achievements of our successful development partnership between our two countries, and also the future pipeline in terms of what we would be looking at.
But again, just to repeat that, the principal driving impulse of our partnership with Mauritius converges through neighborhood first, SAGAR Vision, and is based on the Mauritian priorities.
Dekhiya aapka jo prashna tha Agaléga ko le ke, Agaléga ka project bhi, uske 3 mukhya bhag hain, ek toh air strip ka construction, jetty ka construction aur wahan par community development projects, ye sabhi projects jo hain abhi chanda din pahle, Bhartiya Pradhan Mantri manniya Narendra Modi ji aur Mauritius ke Pradhan Mantri ne mil ke in sabhi projects ka anavaran kiya tha. Aur yadi aap dhyan se dekhain toh ye projects 3-4 mukhya chizon pe kendrit hain. Sabse pehla connectivity, aapne pichle prashna mei vittiy connectivity ki baat ki ye ek bhautik infrastructure connectivity hai, jo ki Agaléga island aur mainland Mauritius ke bich mai ek prakar se jo unki connectivity hai usko aur sashakt aur samarthya pradhan karega. Iske karan kisi bhi prakar ka jo Agaléga island se emergency evacuation hona hai chahe woh swasthya ki aapda ho ya aur kisi bhi prakar ki emergency ho usmai mahatvapurna sahuliyat pradhan hoti hai, jo ki pahle thi lekin thodi kathin thi. Isi prakar se is connectivity ke karan travel, Agaléga aur mainland Mauritius ke bich mai pradan hota hai. Jo wahan par humne community development projects launch kiye hain, woh Agaléga island nivasiyon ke vikas aur unki development jaruraton ke aadhar pe hi unka implementation aur unka conceptualization kiya gaya hai. Tisra yadi aap dekhenge toh jahan tak maritime security, maritime surveillance ki jo hamari, Bharat aur Mauritius ki jo ek sanjhi prathmikta hain, Agaléga project usko bhi aage badhane mei kafi mahavapurna sabit hoga, usmai chahe hydrography ho, chahe humanitarian assistance ho, chahe maritime kshetra mei drug trafficking ki baat ho, human trafficking ki baat ho ye sabhi jo hamare ek prakar se sanjhi chunautiyan hain maritime kshetra ko le ke, Agaléga mei jo bhi bhautik connectivity ke project aur community development ke project jo Bharat ne kiye hain woh inhi prathmiktaon ko madyanazar kiye hain aur humain purna vishwas hai ki isse us kshetra ke vikas mei kafi madad milegi.
[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] See, regarding your question about Agaléga, the project at Agaléga also has three main components: the construction of an airstrip, the construction of a jetty, and community development projects there. All these projects were recently inaugurated by the honorable Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, together. And if you look closely, these projects are focused on three to four main things. The first aspect is connectivity. In your previous question, you mentioned financial connectivity, but this is a physical infrastructure connectivity that will strengthen and support the connectivity between Agaléga Island and mainland Mauritius. As a result of this, any emergency evacuation from Agaléga Island, whether it's a health emergency or any other kind of emergency, is facilitated with significant convenience, which was somewhat challenging before. Similarly, due to this connectivity, travel between Agaléga and mainland Mauritius is facilitated. The community development projects launched there are implemented and conceptualized based on the needs and development requirements of the residents of Agaléga Island. Thirdly, if you look at it, in terms of maritime security and maritime surveillance, the shared priority of India and Mauritius, advancing the Agaléga project will prove to be quite significant. Whether it's hydrography, humanitarian assistance, or addressing issues like drug trafficking and human trafficking in the maritime domain, all these shared challenges in the maritime domain, the physical connectivity projects and community development projects that India has undertaken in Agaléga are aimed at addressing these priorities. We are fully confident that this will greatly assist in the development of that area.
Dekhiye jo aapne prashna kiya RuPay aur Unified Payment System linkage ke bich mei, iske karan jo, aapne bilkul sahi kaha, main aapse puri tarah sehmat hoon ki yeh vittiy connectivity ka ek mukhya aadhar hain. Connectivity ki paribhasha aaj ke yug mei kewal bhautik connectivity tak simit nahi hain, apitu digital connectivity ho, financial interoperability ho, vittiy connectivity jaise aapne kaha ye sab nayi ubharti hui dimensions hain sambandhon ki aur connectivity ki. Usmai yadi dekha jaye toh RuPay Card aur UPI system ka ek dusre se - ek prakar se kahain, financial systems ka ek dusre se baatchit karne ki jo ek sahuliyat utpanna hui hai woh iska ek mukhya aadhar hai. Iske antargat jo Bhartiya yatrigan jo Mauritius ki yatra karte hain aur Mauritius ke nagrik jo Bharat ki yatra karte hain woh dono UPI aur instant payment systems, jo Mauritius ke hain unko prayog karte hue immediate payment kar payenge.
Ye ek prakar se samjhiye toh iska people to people sambandho mei dono deshon ki jo vittiy sansthayain hain unke sahyog mei, aur tourism ke vikas mei, tinho mai jo hai woh kafi madad pradan hoti hai. Mauritius also, iske sath pehla African desh hoga jisne UPI payment system ka adoption kiya tha. RuPay card ka jahan tak prashna hai, RuPay card ab chahe automatic teller machines ho, ATM machines ho, POS - Point of Sales machines ho, uspar prayog kiye ja sakte hain. Again, iska bhi phir yahi fayda hai ke ek prakar se ease of travel, ease of communication, financial communication aur ease of tourism, tourism ke badhave mei kafi madad milti hain. Aur isko bhi dekhenge toh shayad Mauritius shayad pehla aisa non-Asian desh hoga jisne RuPay card adopt kiya. Aur jaise ki maine kaha manniya Rashtrapati ji ne swayam se Mauritius ke Rashtrapati ko aur Mauritius ke Pradhan Mantri ko ye Bhartiya RuPay card pradan kiya. Aur jis tarah se vittiya connectivity mei aur badhav aayega, aur gehrai aayegi aur uski jo intensity exchanges ki badhegi toh payment systems jyada seamless honge, tourism ko pratyaksha roop se kafi samarthan pradan hoga, aur people to people connectivity aur iske chalte jo exchanges hain donon deshon ke bich mei woh badhenge. Toh yadi dekhain toh new economy ke ye jo naye mapdand hain usmai bhi Bharat-Mauritius ka sehyog jo hai kafi hi sadhrudh, kafi hi sashakt aur samarthwan roop se aage badh raha hai.
[Answer in Hindi: Approximate translation] Regarding the question you asked about the linkage between RuPay and the Unified Payment System, because of this, as you rightly mentioned, I completely agree with you that these are major pillars of financial connectivity. The definition of connectivity in today's era is not limited to just physical connectivity but extends to digital connectivity, financial interoperability, and financial connectivity, as you mentioned. These are all emerging dimensions of relationships and connectivity. If we look at it, the interaction between the RuPay Card and the UPI system can be seen as a facilitation of communication between financial systems. This is a major foundation of it. Within this framework, Indian travelers visiting Mauritius and Mauritian citizens traveling to India will be able to make immediate payments using the UPI and instant payment systems available in Mauritius.
To understand it in a way,it helps in all 3, i.e in people-to-people relations, the cooperation between the financial institutions of both countries and in the development of tourism. With this, Mauritius will be the first African country to adopt the UPI payment system. As for the RuPay card, it can be used on various platforms such as automatic teller machines (ATMs) and point-of-sale (POS) machines. Again, the benefit here lies in ease of travel, ease of communication, financial communication, and ease of tourism, which greatly contribute to the promotion of tourism. Furthermore, Mauritius might be the first non-Asian country to adopt the RuPay card...and as I mentioned, honorable President herself presented the Indian RuPay card to the President and Prime Minister of Mauritius. And as financial connectivity progresses and deepens, and the intensity of exchanges increases, payment systems will become more seamless. This will provide direct support to tourism, and people-to-people connectivity will further enhance exchanges between the two countries. So, if we look at it, in the context of the new economy's new emerging criterias, the cooperation between India and Mauritius is progressing quite robustly, strongly, and in a supportive manner.
Shri Rajesh Parihar: Thank you, Sir, as we are running short of time. Sir, with your permission, I would like to conclude this media briefing. Thank you, Sir, and thank you, everyone, for joining us today.
Shri Vinay Kwatra, Foreign Secretary: Thank you very much.