NEW DELHI: India will continue supporting Mauritius on the issue of Chagos Archipelago in line with its stand on decolonisation, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday amid the Indian Ocean nation’s efforts to reclaim the British-administered islands that house a major US military base.
Jaishankar made the remarks while addressing an event in Port Louis alongside Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth. Jaishankar, on a two-day visit to Mauritius, held talks with Jugnauth to review bilateral ties.
Jugnauth raised the issue of the Chagos Archipelago – a group of seven atolls that includes Diego Garcia island, which houses a strategic US military base – in his address at the same event and expressed gratitude for India’s “unflinching support” to Mauritius’s efforts to complete its “decolonisation process so that we can effectively exercise our sovereignty over our entire territory, including the Chagos Archipelago”.
Speaking after Jugnauth, Jaishankar said: “I would like to again assure you today that on the issue of Chagos, India will continue its consistent support to Mauritius in line with its principal stand on decolonisation and support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations.”
Though claimed by Mauritius, Chagos is part of the UK’s British Indian Ocean Territory and Diego Garcia was leased to the US in the 1960s.
{{/usCountry}}Though claimed by Mauritius, Chagos is part of the UK’s British Indian Ocean Territory and Diego Garcia was leased to the US in the 1960s.
{{/usCountry}}Earlier, Jugnauth and Jaishankar virtually inaugurated 12 community development projects financed by India, most of them sports facilities. The two sides exchanged a project plan document for the joint development of a satellite through cooperation between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council.
The two sides signed two memorandums of understanding (MoUs) for developing a national institute for curriculum research and for establishing a chair for Sanskrit and Indian philosophy at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in Mauritius. They also finalised an understanding on India helping to digitise immigration archives.
Jugnauth said there was already a MoU between ISRO and the Mauritius Research and Innovation Council for collaboration, and the jointly developed satellite, once operational, will provide multi-spectral imagery and accurate and targeted data for land and sea surface monitoring.
The space cooperation will allow for sharing data on Mauritius’s territory, and the establishment of an India-Mauritius space portal will lead to value-added services and unlock new avenues for the use of space technologies, he said.
The discussions between Jaishankar and Jugnauth covered technical and financial assistance, defence and security matters, infrastructure development, economic cooperation and trade.
Jugnauth said he had also had “constructive discussions on the importance of the Mauritius-India double taxation avoidance convention”, which significantly contributes to both economies. The two sides will continue to work together for the growth of their financial sectors, he said.
Jaishankar said Mauritius is one of the first countries he was visiting in his second term as foreign minister, underscoring the strength and depth of the bilateral ties.