CECPA between India and Mauritius

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Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) between India and Mauritius.

• In the free trade agreement, two trading partners cut or eliminate customs duties on a host of products apart from liberalising norms to promote services trade.
• India has implemented free trade pacts with Japan, Korea and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
• It is also negotiating similar agreements with Australia, New Zealand and the European Union (EU).

Highlights of the Agreement

• Both countries have been negotiating this pact since 2005 and it will be the first trade agreement to be signed by India with a country in Africa.
• It is a limited agreement that will be signed on a mutually convenient date and will come into force from the first date of the following month.
• It provides for an institutional mechanism to encourage and improve trade between the two countries.
• Coverage: Trade in Goods, Rules of Origin, Trade in Services, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures, Dispute Settlement, Movement of Natural Persons, Telecom, Financial Services, Customs Procedures and Cooperation in other areas.
  • It covers 310 export items for India, including foodstuff and beverages, agricultural products, textile and textile articles, and others.
  • Mauritius will benefit from preferential market access into India for its 615 products, including frozen fish, speciality sugar, biscuits, fresh fruits, etc.
  • As regards trade in services, India will have access to around 115 sub-sectors from the 11 broad service sectors such as professional services, computer-related services, research & development, other business services, telecommunication, etc.
  • India has offered around 95 sub-sectors from the 11 broad services sectors, including professional services, research and development (R&D), other business services, etc.
  • Both sides have also agreed to negotiate an Automatic Trigger Safeguard Mechanism (ATSM) for a limited number of highly sensitive products within two years of the signing of the Agreement.
• Significance: The CECPA will further strengthen the already deep and special relations between the two countries.

India-Mauritius Relations

• Historical Ties
  • Mauritius maintained contacts with India through successive Dutch, French and British occupation.
  • From the 1820s, Indian workers started going to Mauritius to work on sugar plantations.
  • From 1834, when slavery was abolished by the British Parliament, large numbers of Indian workers were taken to Mauritius as indentured labourers.
    • 2nd November 1834 marks the day when the ship ‘Atlas’, carrying the first batch of Indian indentured labourers, docked in Mauritius.
    • Currently, this day is observed in Mauritius as ‘Aapravasi Day’.
  • Indian origin population constitutes about 68% of the Mauritian population.
  • As a tribute to Gandhiji and the Indian freedom struggle, the National Day of Mauritius is celebrated on 12th March (the date of the launch of Dandi Salt March in 1930).
• Political Relations
  • Diplomatic relations between both countries were established in 1948.
  • High-level visits have been one of the significant aspects of bilateral relations. 
    • January 2019: Prime Minister of Mauritius visited India to attend the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (9th January every year) in Varanasi as Chief Guest.
    • October 2018: Acting President of Mauritius visited India to attend the first Pondicherry Global Economic Summit 2019 and the 5th World Tamils Economic Conference in Pondicherry.
    • August 2018: The then External Affairs Minister of India attended the 11th World Hindi Conference.
      • The theme of the conference was “Hindi Vishwa Aur Bharateey Sanskriti” (Global Hindi and Indian Culture).
    • March 2018: Indian President visited Mauritius as the Chief Guest on the occasion of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the Independence of the Republic of Mauritius.
    • October 2015: The then Prime Minister of Mauritius visited India as the head of the Mauritian delegation at the 3rd India-Africa Forum Summit.
• Economic Relations
  • Since 2005, India has been among the largest trading partners of Mauritius and has been one of the largest exporters of goods and services to Mauritius.
  • The bilateral trade between India and Mauritius has registered a growth of 233% from USD 206.76 million in the Financial Year (FY) 2005-06 to USD 690.02 million in FY 2019-20.
    • India’s exports to Mauritius surged 232% from USD 199.43 million in FY 2005-06 to USD 662.13 million in FY 2019-20, while India’s imports from Mauritius increased 280% from USD7.33 million in 2005-06 to USD 27.89 million in FY 2019-20.
  • Mauritius was the second top source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into India in 2019-20.
  • India’s Exports to Mauritius: Petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton, shrimps and prawns, frozen boneless bovine meat.
  • India’s Imports from Mauritius: Vanilla, instruments and apparatus for medical/surgical sciences, needles, Aluminum alloys etc.
  • The protocol amending the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) was signed in May 2016.
  • Eleven Indian Public Sector Enterprises are currently functioning in Mauritius.
    • For example, the Bank of Baroda (BoB), Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), and New India Assurance Corporation (NIAC), etc.
    • Besides their core activities, the PSUs have also contributed to various activities in Mauritius under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) schemes.
• Defence
  • The naval relationship between Mauritius and India is symbiotic.
    • India gets a reliable partner in Mauritius and through the coastal radar network has effectively extended its maritime surveillance capability into the Southern Indian Ocean.
    • Mauritius benefits by drawing on the experience of professional Indian Navy and Air Force officers as well as being able to avail itself of naval vessels being produced at Indian shipyards at competitive prices and attractive financing packages.
  • In addition to training carried out during Indian Navy visits, under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Program II Division (ITEC-II), between 45 and 50 personnel of the Mauritius National Police Force (MPF), are trained annually in Indian defence training establishments.
  • The INS Amar, an ex-Indian Navy Seaward Defence Boat was transferred to the Mauritian National Coast Guard (NCG) in April 1974 and served as the country’s only naval vessel for over two decades.
  • In addition, Mauritius has been able to avoid having to create dedicated military forces, maintaining very modest paramilitary capabilities relative to its neighbours.
• Cultural Relations
  • The Indira Gandhi Centre for Indian Culture (IGCIC), one of the largest centres of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), has emerged as an important venue for the promotion of Indian cultural activities in Mauritius.
  • The Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for 2018-2021 was renewed in March 2018.
  • The “India Week” was organised in Mauritius in April 2018 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mauritius’s independence.
  • The Mahatma Gandhi Institute (MGI) was founded as a joint venture for the promotion of Indian culture and education.
  • Mauritius also hosts the World Hindi Secretariat, which is a bilateral organization and was inaugurated in March 2018.
• Education and Scholarships
  • Mauritius is one of the largest beneficiary countries of the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programme.
  • Mauritius is the largest beneficiary of Africa Scholarships under the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS).
  • Every year, about 200 Mauritian students enrol themselves in Indian Universities.
    • India ranks fourth in terms of Mauritian students studying in overseas tertiary education institutions.
• India-assisted Projects
  • In May 2016, India extended a ‘Special Economic Package’ of USD 353 million for the execution of projects of priority of the Mauritius Government.
    • It was for the Metro Express Project, Supreme Court Building, Social Housing project, etc.
  • In August 2018, the Cyber Tower in Ebene (the business district of Mauritius) was renamed as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Tower.
• Indian Community and OCI Card
  • There are nearly 10,000 Indian nationals in Mauritius and the number of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders in Mauritius is about 8500.
    • In January 2017, a special carve-out for OCI Cards, only for Mauritius, without any restriction on the number of generations, was announced.
  • In October 2004, Mauritius introduced a visa-free regime for Indian tourists in which Indian tourists visiting Mauritius for a period of up to 30 days do not require a visa.
  • Mauritians are entitled to a gratis (free) E-tourist visa for visiting India.
• Humanitarian Assistance during Covid-19
  • Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, India has extended steadfast support to Mauritius in dealing with the crisis. Mauritius was among the first and largest beneficiaries of India’s Covid-19-related assistance.
  • Under Mission SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region), India supplied essential medicines and also sent a special Indian Medical Assistance Team.
  • Under India’s vaccine diplomacy (VaccineMaitri), a consignment of 1 lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine was sent to Mauritius.

Significance of Mauritius as Regional Hub

• It can support India’s own African economic outreach as the era of new investments pouring into Africa.
• India deals with the islands of the southwestern Indian Ocean (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion and Seychelles) on a bilateral basis but if it considers them as a collective, Mauritius could be the axis of India’s island policy.
• It can facilitate a number of Indian commercial activities like a banking gateway, a hub for flights to and from Indian cities and tourism in the southwestern Indian ocean.
• India could also contribute to the evolution of Mauritius as a regional centre for technological innovation.
• Being an island nation, climate change, sustainable development and the blue economy are existential challenges for Mauritius so it is the right partner in promoting Indian initiatives in these areas and can also become a valuable place for regional and international maritime scientific research.
• Strategically also, for security cooperation in the southwestern Indian Ocean, Mauritius can serve the demands of all the island nations around it as well as the East African states.

Source: PIB