By IANS
New Delhi : India and Mauritius will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the fields of welfare of old persons, persons with disabilities, drug abuse prevention and community development.
The MoU will be signed during the visit of India’s Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar to Mauritius Thursday.
According to a spokesperson of the ministry: “The MoU addresses the issues of overall development of the marginalized sections of society through mutual cooperation for training, research and documentation. India also offers to provide scholarship for Mauritian participants for training at the National Institute of Social Defence and six National Institutes of Disabilities.”
During her visit, Kumar will call on Mauritius President Anerood Jugnauth and Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam.
The spokesperson said that Kumar would attend a function to commemorate the 173rd anniversary of the arrival of the first batch of indentured labourers to Mauritius.
The first Indian labourers landed in Mauritius in 1834 at Aapravasi Ghat, a historic structure that has crumbled over time, though the ’14 Steps’ that the first Indians took have been preserved as testimony to the link between the two countries.