On February 29, 2024, the Prime Minster of India, Narendra Modi and Mauritius PM Pravin Jugnauth jointly inaugurated an airstrip and a jetty in the Agalega Islands. Apart from the airstrip and St James jetty at the Agalega island, six other projects implemented with financial assistance from India, were also inaugurated by both leaders virtually.
The inauguration of the airstrip and jetty on the Agalega island is expected to contribute significantly to advancing this partnership. PM Modi expressed satisfaction that Mauritius is the first country to have joined India ‘s Jan Aushadi Scheme, aimed at providing affordable and quality medicines.
The inauguration of these projects follows the recent launch of India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) systems an RuPay card services in Mauritius Jugnauth hailed the event as a great moment for the partnership between the two nations marking the fulfillment of commitments made by PM Narendra Modi in 2015.
PM Narendra Modi said in his address that Mauritius is a key partner of India’s Neighborhood Policy and a special partner under vision SAGAR. “As members of the Global South, we have common priorities and the last decade saw unprecedented momentum in the relations between the two countries and new heights of mutual cooperation have been achieved,” he said.
“India has always respected Mauritius needs and has acted like a first responder,” he said. PM Modi also said that India and Mauritius are natural partners in maritime security deal with these challenges. “We are actively working together ensure safety, security, prosperity and stability in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
We are cooperating in all areas like monitoring the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), joint patrolling, hydrography, along with Humanitarian and Disaster Relief (HADR),” he said. Jugnauth also said, “We are making a history today on the island of Agalega with the inauguration of a new airstrip, new jetty and several other development projects.”
He added that the event marked a great moment for the remarkable and exemplary partnership between the two countries. Jugnauth rubbished claims about the establishment of military bases on the islands and said “There has never been ana agenda for Mauritius to relinquish its sovereignty over the Agalega islands. Likewise, there has never been any agenda to transform our Agalega into a military base.”
