Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mauritius on 11 and 12 March marks a crucial continuity in the India-Mauritius bilateral relations. Additionally, it gives further impetus to India’s Mission SAGAR—Security and Growth for All in the Region—an important pillar of Modi’s vision for the Western Indian Ocean Region.
The newly elected Prime Minister of Mauritius, Navinchandra Ramgoolam, has invited Modi as the Chief Guest for the Mauritius National Day celebrations on 12 March. While the focus of the visit is clearly maritime security, other issues—particularly health and education—will feature on the agenda.
In recent years, maritime security on the coasts of the Western Indian Ocean Region has emerged as India’s strategic priority. In February 2024, India inaugurated a new airstrip and jetty at Agalega Island in Mauritius, reflecting its interest in playing the role of a net security provider in the region.
Security, health partnership
India has been a longstanding partner of Mauritius in building its maritime capabilities. In 2017, an Interceptor Boat C-139, together with on-board equipment leased by New Delhi to the National Coast Guard of Mauritius since 1993, was transferred to the Government of Mauritius. In 2022, Mauritius also joined the Colombo Security Conclave established in 2020 by India, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives to enhance regional maritime security cooperation.
To take this maritime cooperation forward, the Indian Navy is set to sign a technical cooperation agreement on information exchange related to white shipping. The agreement includes real-time sharing of data that would help enhance maritime security and ensure the safety of Mauritius’ trading corridors. Further, an armed forces contingent from India will participate in the celebrations along with a warship of the Indian Navy and the Akash Ganga skydiving team of the Indian Air Force. This reflects the growing importance accorded to security partnerships.
Education and capacity building have remained a key pillar in India’s engagement with Africa, and Mauritius is no exception. During the visit, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and the Mauritius Prime Minister’s Office are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a framework for maritime zone management and ocean observation and research cooperation. Further, the Ministry of Public Service and Administrative Reforms of Mauritius and India’s National Centre for Good Governance will sign a separate MoU to train 500 Mauritian civil servants over five years.
India’s health diplomacy with Mauritius was in full display during Covid-19, when India donated 1 lakh Covishield vaccines and despatched another lakh along with 2 lakh doses of Covaxin on a commercial basis. Few know that after falling critically ill, Ramgoolam received his treatments from the AIIMS Trauma Centre in New Delhi. Now, as Mauritius has built a new health centre funded by India, both leaders are expected to inaugurate it.
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Geopolitical significance
On the trade front, India and Mauritius signed the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) on 22 February 2021. It is the first trade agreement signed by India with an African country. The CECPA, when properly implemented, will not only strengthen trade and economic cooperation between the two countries but will also help counter China’s similar move.
In 2019, China signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Mauritius to liberalise and promote trade in goods and services, explore new areas of economic cooperation, and simplify the investment process. Further, to elevate its economic diplomacy with Mauritius, Beijing also set up a Chinese Renminbi clearance centre at the Bank of Mauritius (BoM) in December 2022.
Since assuming office, Ramgoolam has shown remarkable diplomatic deftness in balancing his country’s two large Asian neighbours. The invite to Modi underscores India’s importance to Ramgoolam’s vision for Mauritius.
The visit must also be understood in terms of the larger geopolitical undercurrents in the region. In October 2024, the UK agreed to transfer the sovereignty of the Chagos archipelago to Mauritius, on the condition of letting the US and the UK retain the military base on the atoll of Diego Garcia. While the nitty-gritty of the deal is yet to be worked out, India has publicly supported Mauritius’s sovereignty over Chagos.
Since then, both Mauritius and the US have witnessed a change in their government. Although US President Donald Trump has indicated that he might endorse the current deal, both parties would probably like to revisit some of its provisions. India’s presence would be useful in clinching a mutually beneficial deal.
About 70 per cent of the Mauritian population traces its roots back to India and about half of it is Hindu. So, Modi’s scheduled interaction with the Indian diasporic community could also prove consequential.
In the November 2024 parliamentary elections, the coalition led by Ramgoolam secured a massive mandate across the country, winning 60 of the 62 seats. The victory puts him in a comfortable position to decide the trajectory of his nation’s foreign policy, ensuring a strategic diplomatic balance. And his invitation to the Indian Prime Minister reflects his priorities for India as a strategic partner.
Harsh V Pant is Vice President for Studies and Foreign Policy and Samir Bhattacharya is Associate Fellow, Africa, at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) in New Delhi. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)