• India and Mauritius have reviewed the present bilateral engagement in the field of MSMEs and held discussion on potential areas of cooperation.

• The Indian side was led by Narayan Rane, Union Minister for MSMEs, while the  Mauritian delegation was led by Soomilduth Bholah, Union Minister of Industrial Development, SMEs and Cooperatives.

• The two sides discussed exchange of best practices and experiences in development of the micro small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector in the 3rd Joint Committee Meeting between India’s ministry of MSME and ministry of business, enterprises and cooperatives of the Republic of Mauritius.

• Both sides reviewed the present engagement between India and Mauritius in the field of MSMEs, and held discussion on potential areas of cooperation in various areas, including exchange of best practices and experiences in development of MSME sector.

During the Mauritius delegation’s visit, two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) on cooperation have also been signed.

i) MoU between SME Mauritius Ltd and Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) - Ahmedabad.

ii) MoU between SME Mauritius Ltd and National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Ni-msme), an institute under the ministry of MSME.

India-Mauritius relations

• Diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius were established in 1948.

• Mauritius is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a special place in PM Modi’s vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

• India and Mauritius share a unique relationship that is strategic, reliable and time-tested on one hand, and is based on historical, cultural and ties of kinship on the other. 

• The relationship has been further strengthened by the close engagement between the leadership and strong people to people ties. India’s engagement with Mauritius has evolved into a multi-faceted relationship encompassing cooperation in key priority areas including people oriented development partnership, defence and maritime cooperation, trade & commercial ties, capacity building through scholarships and ITEC programmes, etc.

• In February 2021, the two countries signed a landmark Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership Agreement (CECPA).

• The island nation is also part of India’s security grid including Coastal Surveillance Radar (CSR) station of Indian Navy’s National Command Control Communication Intelligence network (NC3I Network).

• As part of Mission SAGAR, medical assistance teams were deployed to Mauritius to help in dealing with the COVID-19 emergency. 

• India has been one of the largest trading partners and exporters of goods and services to Mauritius since 2007. 

• India’s exports to Mauritius comprises largely petroleum products. Other main items of India’s exports to Mauritius are pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton, shrimps and prawns. The island nation’s exports to New Delhi include iron and steel, pearls, precious/semi-precious stones and optical, photographic and precision instruments.

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