Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra arrives in Mauritius for three-day visit

Port Louis [Mauritius], April 13 : Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra arrived in Mauritius for a three-day visit from April 12-14, the High Commission of India in Mauritius informed in a tweet.

The High Commission of India in Mauritius noted that Vinay Kwatra's visit will be an opportunity to review the ties between the two nations.

Taking to its official Twitter handle, the High Commission of India in Mauritius stated, "Arrival of Foreign Secretary Shri Vinay Kwatra in Mauritius for a 3-day visit from 12-14 April 2023. Opportunity to review the entire gamut of India-Mauritius bilateral relations."

India has "close, longstanding relations" with Mauritius, owing to historic, demographic and cultural reasons, according to the High Commission of India in Mauritius' media brief on ties between the two nations. A key reason for the "special ties" between the two nations is that Indian-origin people comprise nearly 70 per cent of Mauritius's population of 1.2 million (28 per cent Creole, 3 per cent Sino-Mauritian, 1 per cent Franco-Mauritian).

Earlier in March, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth visited the First Training Squadron Ships and appreciated the assistance provided by ships and aircraft of India's Navy while also lauding the interoperability between the Indian Navy and Mauritian National Coast Guard.

The Mauritius PM made the remarks at the First Training Squadron Ships at Quay A, Harbour Area in Port-Louis.

Taking to Twitter, the Indian Navy Spokesperson said, "Hon'ble PM of Mauritius @KumarJugnauth during the reception, the onboard First Training Squadron lauded the interoperability of the National Coast Guard, Mauritius & IndianNavy during Joint Ops for the removal of pollutants from grounded vessel off St Brandon Mauritius."

Indian Navy spokesperson in another tweet said, "Based on the request from GoM, the 1TS Ships on a long-range training deployment off Mauritius carried out joint salvage ops with MCGS Barracuda, which incl over 30 helo sorties & recovery of more than 300 kgs of pollutants."

Speaking on the occasion, Jugnauth highlighted that the participation of the Indian Navy in activities marking the Independence Day celebrations is a testimony of the privileged relationship between Mauritius and India, strongly bound by ties that go deep in history. He extended his gratitude to the Government of India and the Indian Navy for this collaboration, according to an official release by the Mauritian government.