Noted Africa expert, Ruchita Beri is of the view that India can learn a lot from Mauritius in developing its blue economy as it was the first African country to develop a blue economy policy.
A senior fellow with Delhi based think tank Vivekananda International Foundation, Ruchita made this point in the course of a discussion on The Gist on StratNews Global.
The discussion focused on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ongoing two day State visit to Mauritius to grace its national day celebrations as Chief Guest.
Asked how Mauritius can tap its blue economy better given the fact that it is surrounded by a vast exclusive economic zone of 2.3 million square kilometre, she said, “ Blue economy is a concept which is evolving. Blue economy means any economic activity which is got to do with oceans- whether it is development of ports or infrastructure, sub sea mining, fisheries or tourism- host of economic activities associated with it, India gives a lot of priority to blue economy. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said a number of times that the Chakra in India’s flag denotes blue economy. India has developed a draft policy on blue economy.”
Ruchita who has been a member of the FICCI (Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry) task force on blue economy, said,“ Mauritius is one of the pioneers in the development of blue economy policy. Here, it is not just how India can help Mauritius but is also the other way round. It was the first country in Africa to develop a blue economy policy in 2013 and therefore, they have done a lot. I think, blue economy covers about 10 per cent of their GDP. They are really dependent on the blue economy. So, how do they go about it. I think, they can utilize India’s technical help and assistance in enabling a better harnessing of the blue economy. And I think, it will be mutually beneficial. Both India and Mauritius can learn from each others experience in this field.’’
Ruchita who was earlier a senior research associate and centre coordinator, Africa, Latin America , Caribbean and United Nations Centre at the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, explained that the SAGAR (Security And Growth For All In The Region) policy enunciated by Prime Minister Modi, is a maritime vision that India has promoted for the entire Indian Ocean Region. ” India is saying that it is ready to partner with Indian Ocean neighbouring countries in supporting their endevaours. For India, security is an enabler for growth. Prime Minister’s visit to Mauritius on the tenth anniversary of SAGAR also signifies the importance that India gives to the SAGAR vision and hopefully, we will be able to work towards enhancing the SAGAR policy further.”
Describing Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Mauritius as important, she noted how the newly elected Prime Minister of Mauritius Navinchandra Ram Goolam departed from protocol and made a special gesture of greeting Prime Minister Modi at the airport itself. “ This also signifies India’s close relations with Mauritius and the Mauritian Prime Minister’s close friendship with Prime Minister Modi. If you saw the welcome, you felt you were back in India. There were women who sang Bhojpuri songs besides youth who welcomed Prime Minister Modi by dancing symbolizing the close partnership and the close cultural bonds that the two countries have.”
To a question on how India can play a role in flagging issues of small island nations like Mauritius affected by climate change, in global fora, she said, ” Climate change is seen as a threat to their security and survival. It is a very important concern for the Mauritians and they definitely want all support from India in raising this issue at all global fora. India has tried to project itself as a bridge builder between the global north and global south during its presidency of the G 20. And this is one of the issues that has been raised.”
The Africa specialist went on to say that climate action is very close to India’s heart and therefore, India and Mauritius are together in this fight for finding justice on climate change issues.
Asked how Mauritius has gained from India aided development projects, she said that Mauritius is a very important development partner of India and this partnership will grow as many agreements will be signed during Prime Minister Modi’s visit. ” In the last decade or so, India has provided about a billion dollar of development assistance to Mauritius and India has set up the metro express project in Mauritius besides developing the Supreme Court building, the solar projects, supplying e tablets to school children and social housing projects. India has also transferred the digital infrastructure.”
It is worth noting that India is among the largest trading partners of Mauritius. In 2021, India and Mauritius signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement.
While agreeing that the Indian diaspora is a very important part of Mauritius, she said that Indians have played a great role in the political and economic development of Mauritius. “ About 70 per cent of the population of Mauritius is of Indian origin. So, they do play an important role in Mauritius. A large number of leaders of Mauritius-heads of governments have been of Indian origin. The first founder Prime Minister of Mauritius was of Indian origin- the father of the current Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam. The Indian diaspora landed during the British period. They are descendants of the Girmitiyas who were sent all across the world by the Britishers during their colonial rule to take care of their plantations. But they are still tied to their cultural roots. They are very similar to the Indians here. They accept that they have a Mauritian identity but culturally, they are tied to India.’’
She agreed that Modi’s visit to Mauritius two days before Holi makes the visit special as Holi represents colour and is symbolic in terms of meeting and greeting friends. “Here, India is expressing its deep friendship with Mauritius- that we are partner countries, that we are together, we are friends and we are friends forever.’’
