India-Mauritius united by history, ancestry, culture, language and shared waters: PM Modi

New Delhi, Jan 19: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the India-assisted social housing units project in Mauritius virtually on Thursday.

Speaking at the event, PM Modi recalled the contribution of late Anerood Jugnauth (former Mauritius President) to strengthen the India-Mauritius ties.

"He was a visionary leader, who was widely respected in India. Upon his passing, we had declared a day of national mourning in India, and our Parliament had also paid homage to him. It was our privilege to honour him with the Padma Vibhushan award in 2020," PM Modi said.

Unfortunately, the pandemic did not permit India to schedule the award ceremony during his lifetime, he said. "But we were honoured by the presence of Lady Sarojini Jugnauth in November last year to accept the award. This is the first bilateral event between our countries after his sad demise. And so, even as we celebrate yet another milestone in our shared development journey, I also wish to express my deepest condolences to his family, and to all the people of Mauritius," Modi added.

India and Mauritius are united by history, ancestry, culture, language and the shared waters of the Indian Ocean. Today, the robust development partnership between the countries has emerged as a key pillar of our close ties, he stated.

"Mauritius is a prime example of India's approach to development partnership which is based on the needs and priorities of our partners and respects their sovereignty," PM Modi added.

The Indian PM further claimed that he is glad that the bilateral cooperation, including in maritime security, has translated this vision into action. Despite the constraints of COVID, the countries were able to hand over a Dornier aircraft on lease and complete the Short Refit of the Mauritian Coast Guard ship Barracuda. The deployment of equipment and experts to contain the Wakashio oil spill was another example of the cooperation to protect the shared maritime heritage, he stated.

The Agreement on Small Development Projects between the two countries that are being exchanged today will deliver high-impact projects at the community level across Mauritius." In the coming days, we will begin work on several important projects such as the Renal Transplant unit, the Forensic Science Laboratory, the National Library & Archives, the Mauritius Police Academy, and many others.I would like to reiterate today that India will always continue to stand by Mauritius in its development journey," PM Modi further added.