New Delhi: As global powers intensify their engagement in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming two-day visit to Mauritius starting on Tuesday signals India's renewed commitment to strengthening its maritime and economic foothold in the region.
With China expanding its presence through infrastructure investments and military cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, India's deepening ties with Mauritius – historically its closest partner in the region – carry significant geopolitical implications.
"Mauritius is a close maritime neighbour, a key partner in the Indian Ocean, and a gateway to the African Continent," Modi said in a pre-departure statement on Monday evening. "We are connected by history, geography and culture. Deep mutual trust, a shared belief in the values of democracy, and celebration of our diversity are our strengths. The close and historical people-to-people connect is a source of shared pride. We have made significant strides in the past ten years with people centric initiatives."
He further stated that he looked forward "to the opportunity to engage the Mauritius leadership to elevate our partnership in all its facets and strength our enduring friendship for the progress and prosperity of our peoples, as well as for security and development in the Indian Ocean Region, as part of our vision SAGAR".
During the course of the visit, PM Modi will attend Mauritius’s National Day celebrations on March 12 as the chief guest. This will be his second visit to Mauritius as Prime Minister after 2015.
The visit this week is expected to strengthen bilateral ties, enhance maritime security cooperation, and reinforce India's development partnerships in the Indian Ocean region. With growing geopolitical competition in the Indian Ocean, particularly with China's increasing presence, PM Modi's visit signals India's commitment to maintaining its influence in a region historically tied to its strategic and economic interests.
"With Mauritius, there is also a very strong development partnership," Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said at a special media briefing here on Saturday with regard to the prime ministerial visit. "We have been privileged to have been a preferred development partner for Mauritius and have undertaken several economic development and capacity building initiatives in Mauritius. India has also extended HADR (humanitarian assistance and disaster relief) support and provided necessary assistance in the augmentation of defence and maritime capabilities of Mauritius."
Misri further stated that the India-Mauritius relationship forms a very, very important pillar of New Delhi's Security and Growth for all in the Region (SAGAR) vision.
Mauritius occupies a critical position in the Indian Ocean, making it a key player in India’s regional security strategy. India has been a longstanding security partner of Mauritius, supporting its maritime capabilities through defence cooperation, naval training, and infrastructure development. PM Modi's visit is expected to deepen these engagements, potentially through new defence agreements or maritime security initiatives.
"Prime Minister Modi and (Mauritius) Prime Minister (Navinchandra) Ramgoolam will together inaugurate a few projects that have been implemented with Indian assistance and will also witness the signing of several MOUs (memorandums of understanding) on cooperation in the field of capacity building, bilateral trade, tackling of cross-border financial crimes and promoting small and medium enterprises," Misri said.
PM Modi’s visit all the more assumes significance as it comes at a time when China is trying to increase its influence among India’s other neighbours in the Indian Ocean like Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
Beijing recently influenced Sri Lankan President Anura Kumar Dissanayake’s government to quietly lift the one-year moratorium, imposed in January 2024, on the operations of foreign research vessels in the island nation’s territorial waters and their port calls. This moratorium had originally been introduced to address New Delhi’s concerns over the frequent presence of Chinese PLA Navy spy ships in the Indian Ocean, particularly within Sri Lankan waters.
Similarly, China has also persuaded Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu’s administration to permit the installation of fish aggregator devices within the Maldives’ exclusive economic zone. India fears that these installations could serve as a cover for the Chinese PLA Navy to conduct hydrographic surveys and deploy surveillance equipment in the Indian Ocean, raising further security concerns in the region.
During his media briefing, Misri said that an MoU will be signed between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) with the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Prime Minister’s office from the Mauritius side, which would establish a comprehensive framework for cooperation on ocean observation, research and information management, and enhancing maritime zone management in Mauritius.
India has been a significant development partner for Mauritius, funding key infrastructure projects such as the Metro Express, the Supreme Court building, and the ENT Hospital. Modi’s visit is expected to result in further development cooperation, with new projects likely to be announced in areas such as transport, energy, and digital infrastructure. This will not only enhance India’s soft power in Mauritius but also provide economic opportunities for Indian businesses.
"This will involve a lot of technical activities such as ocean modelling and focus on capacity building and training in this particular area," the Foreign Secretary said. "There will be engagement on the latest technologies, collaboration on best practices, data management, remote sensing, etc."
As an important financial hub in the Indian Ocean, Mauritius serves as a gateway for Indian investments into Africa. The India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA), signed in 2021, has already facilitated trade and investment growth. Modi’s visit could bring further refinements to this agreement, opening new sectors for collaboration, particularly in fintech, pharmaceuticals, and renewable energy.
However, Mauritius has also emerged as a source of money-laundering and financial crimes connected to India. This is another area that is expected to be looked into during Modi’s visit.
Misri said that an MoU is proposed to be concluded between the Enforcement Directorate and the Financial Crimes Commission of the Mauritius.
"It essentially aims at providing intelligence and technical assistance cooperation on anti-corruption and anti-money laundering activities and it will also help in identifying emerging trends, knowledge exchange, and adapting to new methodologies in this particular area," he stated.
The Indian Ocean’s blue economy presents significant economic opportunities for both India and Mauritius. Modi’s visit is expected to focus on joint initiatives in fisheries, marine resources, and ocean-based industries.
Given Mauritius’s strong emphasis on sustainable development, discussions on climate resilience and disaster management cooperation are likely to be on the agenda, reinforcing India’s commitment to environmentally sustainable growth in the region.
India’s close and longstanding relations with Mauritius is also anchored in shared history, demography and culture. A key reason for the special ties is the fact that Indian origin people comprise nearly 70 per cent of the island’s population of 1.2 million.
Mauritius is a former British and French colony that gained independence from British rule in 1968. Under the nearly century-long French rule (in the year 1729), the first Indians were brought to Mauritius from the Puducherry region to work as artisans and masons. Under British rule, about half a million Indian indentured workers were brought to Mauritius between 1834 and the early 1900s. About two-thirds of these workers permanently settled down in Mauritius.
During the course of his visit, Modi will also interact with members of the Indian community, friends of India and socio-cultural organisations in Mauritius.
To sum up, at a time of increasing geopolitical competition in the Indian Ocean, Modi’s visit is expected to reaffirm India’s position as Mauritius’s closest partner, ensuring mutual security, economic prosperity, and long-term cooperation in the region. As India seeks to expand its influence in the Indo-Pacific and Africa, Mauritius remains a key pillar of its regional strategy, making this visit crucial for shaping future engagements.
