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PM assures security, sovereignty of Mauritius  
by TNS Behl

     Port Louis (Mauritius): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday assured India's full support to Mauritius in ensuring that the country's security and sovereignty and simultaneously emphasised the need for enhancing economic cooperation between the two countries to meet the challenges of globalisation. ''The winds of change are blowing across the world. The relentless forces of globalisation provide challenges as well as new opportunities. India and Mauritius are both affected by these winds of change and we need to prepare ourselves to meet these challenges,'' the Prime Minister said while addressing the Mauritian National Assembly this morning. With India and Mauritius set to sign a Free Trade Agreement, Dr Singh told the parliamentarians, ''India will continue to stand by the side of Mauritius in this brave and glorious venture, as you make a transition to new strengths and capabilities in your country's economy.''

     Dr Singh said India will support Mauritius, with its vast Exclusive Economic Zone, in ensuring the security and sovereignty of its land and maritime territory. The Prime Minister expressed happiness that Mauritius has identified Information and Technology as one of the key economic sectors and said the Cyber Tower, which will be inaugurated by him tomorrow, ''is yet another example of what Mauritius and India can build together.'' Citing human resource development as a key tool for national development, Dr. Singh said: ''We will help Mauritius establish institutions of excellence, on the lines of the best technology and medical institutions in India. Similar collaborative ventures are possible in health, pharmaceuticals, education, professional training, finance and manangement and small and medium enterprises.'' Dr Singh described Mauritius as a ''rainbow nation'' based on a robust democratic record and social harmony, providing respectable standards of living for its people. Paying tributes to the memory of Sir Seewosagur Ramgoolam, Father of the Mauritian nation, Dr Singh said India and Mauritius, through the rich and successful experience of managing diversity and pluralism in an inclusive framework, stand out as beacons of hope for the future.

     The Prime Minister, who arrived here yesterday on a four-day official visit, also held bilateral talks with his Mauritian counterpart Paul Raymond Berenger and signed four agreements, including one on combating terrorism. The meeting between Dr. Singh and Prime Minister Birenger took place at the latter's office located in Treasury Building, Government House in Port Louis. Besides the Prime Minister, the Indian delegation at the talks included IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran, National Security Advisor M K Narayanan, the Indian High Commissioner to Mauritius Pripuran Singh Haer , Shashi Tripathi, Secretary (West) and other senior Foreign Ministry officials. Both sides held wide ranging discussions on a host of issues. The talks lasted for over an hour. From the Mauritian side, the agreements were signed by the Mauritian Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Vijay Makhan. Apart from the Memorandum of Understanding for the setting up of a Joint Working Group to combat terrorism, the two sides signed a treaty for commencing bilateral air services, a pact for setting up an EXIM line of credit for 10 million dollars and extending co-operation in protection of environment.

     On Wednesday, the Prime Minister and his wife visited the mausoleum of Mauritius' first Prime Minister Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam soon after he was received at the airport by Berenger, the first non-Indian origin leader to hold the high office. Dr.Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur planted a sapling at the Pamplemousses Garden, dedicated to Ramgoolam, the Father of the Nation. Later, Singh attended a banquet hosted by Birenger in his honour. Singh will also call on the Mauritian President Sir Anerood Jugnauth on Thursday. India has unique and brotherly ties with Mauritius, where people of Indian origin constitute 68 percent of the population. Bilateral trade between the nations stands at 180 million dollars with a particular thrust on information technology sector. Mauritius has traditionally supported India's candidature for a permanent membership of the UN Security Council, fight against cross-border terrorism and Indian position on the Kashmir dispute.

India, China conclude boundary dispute talks (Go To Top)

     Beijing: India and China on Thursday concluded a key round of negotiations on the vexed boundary issue here with both sides agreeing to schedule another meeting between the two Special Representatives ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to India from April 9. "We had very good discussions during our JWG meetings," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran was quoted as saying by wire agencies after the two-day 15th Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on the India- China boundary issue. The fifth round of negotiations between the two Special Representatives will be held in New Delhi prior to the state visit of Wen, who will be in India from April 9-12, Saran said.

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