By IANS
New Delhi : India Wednesday thanked Mauritius, the island nation that is home to the nearly 800,000-strong Indian diaspora, for its “steadfast support” for a permanent seat in an expanded Security Council as the two countries deepened their ties across diverse sectors.
India also agreed to help Mauritius to develop into a services centre and a knowledge hub as the two countries decided to deepen their economic and energy ties by encouraging a more proactive participation of the private sector in these crucial areas.
The two nations also decided to intensify their cooperation in combating international terrorism. A joint working group on combating terrorism will meet in Mauritius Jan 21-22 next year.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is currently on a three-day visit to Mauritius, and Mauritius Deputy Prime Minister Ramakrishna Sithanen concluded the 10th Joint Commission Meeting with an ambitious comprehensive agenda to expand and diversify relations in a host of areas.
“India thanked Mauritius for its steadfast support to India’s candidature for the permanent membership of the UN Security Council,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Navtej Sarna said here Wednesday.
India thanked Mauritius for playing a crucial role in helping it to forge relations with regional economic communities such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the African Union, the spokesperson added.
India’s proposed participation in developing Mauritius into a services centre for the global market and the participation of Indian universities through offshore campuses in the island country are set to take friendly ties between the two nations to new heights.
India has asked the Mauritian side to make concrete proposals for developing Mauritius into a services centre.
Both sides have also decided to encourage their private sectors to step up joint projects relating to bio-fuel, agro industry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, fisheries, textile and fashion, banking and finance, mining and mineral, and infrastructure.
India also agreed to the Mauritian request for co-terminal rights for Air Mauritius to operate on the Mauritius-Bangalore-Chennai sectors on a provisional basis.