NEW DELHI: India will proceed supporting Mauritius on the problem of Chagos Archipelago consistent with its stand on decolonisation, exterior affairs minister S Jaishankar mentioned on Tuesday amid the Indian Ocean nation’s efforts to reclaim the British-administered islands that home a serious US navy base.
Jaishankar made the remarks whereas addressing an occasion in Port Louis alongside Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Jaishankar, on a two-day go to to Mauritius, held talks with Jugnauth to evaluation bilateral ties.
Jugnauth raised the problem of the Chagos Archipelago – a bunch of seven atolls that features Diego Garcia island, which homes a strategic US navy base – in his tackle on the identical occasion and expressed gratitude for India’s “unflinching help” to Mauritius’s efforts to finish its “decolonisation course of in order that we will successfully train our sovereignty over our complete territory, together with the Chagos Archipelago”.
Talking after Jugnauth, Jaishankar mentioned: “I want to once more guarantee you immediately that on the problem of Chagos, India will proceed its constant help to Mauritius consistent with its principal stand on decolonisation and help for sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries.”
Although claimed by Mauritius, Chagos is a part of the UK’s British Indian Ocean Territory and Diego Garcia was leased to the US within the Sixties.
Earlier, Jugnauth and Jaishankar nearly inaugurated 12 group growth initiatives financed by India, most of them sports activities amenities. The 2 sides exchanged a undertaking plan doc for the joint growth of a satellite tv for pc via cooperation between the Indian Area Analysis Organisation (ISRO) and the Mauritius Analysis and Innovation Council.
The 2 sides signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for growing a nationwide institute for curriculum analysis and for establishing a chair for Sanskrit and Indian philosophy on the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius. In addition they finalised an understanding on India serving to to digitise immigration archives.
Jugnauth mentioned there was already a MoU between ISRO and the Mauritius Analysis and Innovation Council for collaboration, and the collectively developed satellite tv for pc, as soon as operational, will present multi-spectral imagery and correct and focused information for land and sea floor monitoring.
The house cooperation will permit for sharing information on Mauritius’s territory, and the institution of an India-Mauritius house portal will result in value-added companies and unlock new avenues for using house applied sciences, he mentioned.
The discussions between Jaishankar and Jugnauth lined technical and monetary help, defence and safety issues, infrastructure growth, financial cooperation and commerce.
Jugnauth mentioned he had additionally had “constructive discussions on the significance of the Mauritius-India double taxation avoidance conference”, which considerably contributes to each economies. The 2 sides will proceed to work collectively for the expansion of their monetary sectors, he mentioned.
Jaishankar mentioned Mauritius is likely one of the first nations he was visiting in his second time period as international minister, underscoring the power and depth of the bilateral ties.