India and Mauritius are close to finalisation of a free trade agreement as the negotiations for the pact are progressing well, according to the commerce ministry of Government of India
The pact billed as India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA) is expected to benefit both the countries in the area of trade in goods and services. The two sides held negotiations across several sectors including goods, services, rules of origin, technical barriers to trade and sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, trade remedies and dispute settlement.
Mauritius ranked second in terms of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India in 2018-19. India received USD$8 billion foreign inflows from the country. There has been significant increase in bilateral trade, which has grown to US$ 1.2 billion in 2018-19 from USD 1.1 billion in 2017-18. While India exports petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, cereals, cotton and electrical machinery, apparel and clothing accessories to Mauritius, the island nation’s exports to India include iron and steel, pearls, precious/semi-precious stones and optical, photographic and precision instruments.
The relationship between the two countries is very cordial and a sizable number of People of Indian Origin are living in the island nation. Of late, Mauritius is keen to emerge as a gateway to Africa for channelizing investments to other African countries. The Fintech and IT segments are relatively well developed in Mauritius, which is also an important tourist destination. A number of Indians visit the country regularly.
