“We should recommit ourselves to our promising trajectory, where India from being the poorest country in the world has become the world’s fifth largest economy, and the world’s largest democracy in the span of 75 years, and Mauritius from being a poor monocrop economy to a paradise Island and upper middle income country in the beacon of democracy and pluralism in a short span of 54 years”. The High Commissioner of India to Mauritius, Mrs K. Nandini Singla, made this statement, this evening, during the launching of celebrations in the context of the 75th Anniversary of the Independence Day of India and the 75th Anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius.
The official ceremony and a reception were held on that occasion at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture in Phoenix, in presence of the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, and other distinguished guests. A special commemorative cover in collaboration with the Mauritius Post Ltd, to mark the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, was launched by the Minister of Information Technology, Communication and Innovation, Mr Darsanand Balgobin, during the event.
In her address, the High Commissioner of India further said that today marks not just a momentous milestone in India’s history but also marks an important landmark in the special relationship between India and Mauritius. We celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence but also the beginning of a yearlong celebration of the 75 years of diplomatic relations between India and Mauritius, she said. Mrs Singla emphasised that the two countries share an umbilical relationship, and stressed that this relationship goes further back to both countries’ respective independence, as it was forged in the common struggle against colonial rule.
Our two young countries have since walked hand in hand, she observed, while adding that despite the prevalence of the COVID-19 pandemic and related challenges, our partnership has continued to grow. She dwelt on key projects where Mauritius is benefitting the support of India such as the setting up of a Centre of excellence for Indian traditional medicine, a new civil services college, a forensic laboratory, a police academy, and asolar farm project. Mrs Singla also recalled that a new Indian line of credit of USD 300 Million along with the grant of USD 25 million has been announced for extending the Metro Express project to Réduit, St-Pierre and Côte d’Or.
She moreover spoke of the new Indo-Mauritian initiative, namely the Small Community Development Projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life of all Mauritians. In addition, she underpinned the shared values, ancestry, culture, bonds of history, heritage that connect our people and expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Jugnauth for his outstanding support in deepening the two countries’ relations.
