Prime Minister Narendra Modi receives the highest Civilian Award of Mauritius at the National Day Celebrations in Port Louis, Mauritius on March 12, 2025.
Port Louis: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was today conferred the Grand Commander of the Order of the Star and Key of the Indian Ocean (G.C.S.K), the highest civilian honour in Mauritius, by the President of Mauritius Dharambeer Gokhool, during the 57th National Day celebrations of the island nation.
This marks the first occasion an Indian leader has received such recognition. Modi, who served as the Chief Guest at the event, dedicated the award to the enduring friendship between India and Mauritius, as well as to the 1.4 billion people of India and their 1.3 million compatriots in Mauritius. The celebrations also featured a marching contingent from the Indian Navy, and an Indian Naval Ship made a port call to align with the festivities.
Earlier, Modi and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, had “comprehensive and productive” discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations between Mauritius and India during the latter’s State Visit to Mauritius from March 11 to 12, 2025. Modi announced that he and Ramgoolam decided to elevate the India-Mauritius partnership to an ‘Enhanced Strategic Partnership’. “We’ve decided that India will cooperate in building a new Parliament building in Mauritius. This will be a gift to Mauritius from the Mother of Democracy. Efforts will be made to modernize a 100 km long water pipeline in Mauritius,” he said.
In the second phase of community development projects, new projects worth 500 million Mauritian Rupees will be launched. Over the next five years, 500 civil servants from Mauritius will receive training in India. Additionally, India and Mauritius also reached an agreement for settlement of mutual trade in local currency.
Modi also expressed India’s commitment to provide “full support” for the security of the Exclusive Economic Zone of Mauritius. “In this regard, we will extend every possible assistance to meet the needs of the Coast Guard,” he said.
India will also assist in setting up of the Police Academy and National Maritime Information Sharing Centre in Mauritius. Cooperation will be further strengthened in White shipping, Blue economy, and hydrography. Besides, Cooperation shall be extended in areas like Digital Health, AYUSH Centre, school education, skilling and mobility.
“We will work together to utilize AI and DPI, i.e. Digital Public Infrastructure for the development of mankind,” Modi said.
For the People of Mauritius, India will also facilitate Char Dham Yatra and Ramayan Trail in India. Emphasis will be given to the preservation and promotion of the Girmitiya Heritage.
Modi also referred to the people-centric initiatives that were completed in a time-bound manner. Improved connectivity in Agaléga facilitated the swift delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by Cyclone Chido. Many lives could be saved due to this. “We’ve just inaugurated the Cap Malheureux Area Health Centre along with twenty community development projects,” he mentioned. He also inaugurated the “Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Public Service and Innovation” and handed it over to Mauritius.
“We’ve created new records in the field of developmental cooperation and capacity building,” he said and mentioned some of these projects, such as the Metro Express, the Supreme Court Building, Social housing, ENT Hospital, UPI and the RuPay Card to boost trade and tourism, and setting up of Jan Aushadhi Kendras for affordable and quality medicines.
The leaders further underlined the significance of ongoing infrastructure projects in Mauritius such as Renal Transplant Unit, Forensic Science Laboratory, National Archives and Library and Civil Service College, as well as the High Impact Community Development Projects spread across Mauritius and reiterated their full support towards their timely completion.
– global bihari bureau
