India has announced a new economic package of a 250 million dollars line of credit and a 20 million dollars grant for Mauritius. The package was unveiled during bilateral talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Mauritian counterpart Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam in New Delhi.
The two leaders in their talks focused on furthering the bilateral relations. Five agreements were signed after the talks in the fields of education, textiles, sports and youth affairs, science and technology and culture.
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said in a statement that the two sides reviewed their double taxation avoidance convention, insisting that both nations have an interest in ensuring that it is not misused.
Dr. Manmohan Singh said defence and security cooperation is one of the key pillars of the India-Mauritius bilateral relationship and that the two nations have common security interests. He added that India will continue to support Mauritius in ensuring the security and sovereignty of its land and maritime territory.
He said that the two countries have agreed to strengthen cooperation to address the growing menace of piracy which has emerged as a major security and developmental challenge in the Indian Ocean. Dr. Singh said that a stable and peaceful Indian Ocean is an objective of both the countries.
Recalling that relations between India and Mauritius are rooted in strong historical and cultural links, Dr. Manmohan Singh noted that the two nations have agreed that the next meeting of the India-Mauritius Joint Commission on Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation will be held later this year to identify new areas to promote cooperation in key areas.
