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India, Mauritius negotiating CECPA trade deal
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SME Times News Bureau | 27 May, 2017
India and Mauritius are negotiating the finalisation of a "ground
breaking" Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement
(CECPA) that will boost trade and investment between both countries,
visiting Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth said on Friday.
"The
CECPA that is currently being negotiated will be a ground breaking
agreement between both nations with close cultural links," Jugnauth said
at a business meeting here organised by industry chambers CII, Ficci
and Assocham.
He said that the CECPA, or a free trade agreement,
builds on the India-Mauritius Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that
was amended last year.
"The CECPA negotiations buid on the DTAA
signed by our contries in 2016, which will give certainty to mutual
investments," the Prime Minister said, noting that over 100 Indian
companies are doing business in Mauritius.
The Indian Ocean
island nation is the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI)
into India with a cumulative inflow that has touched $111 billion.
Mauritius, thus, accounting for 30 per cent of all FDI inflows into
India.
The DTAA protocol agreement with Mauritius in 2016 aims to
prevent evasion of taxes on income and capital gains by entities of
either side. It is designed to tackle a long-pending issues of treaty
abuse -- where ill-gotten money is first sent to Mauritius through
havala transactions, and then comes back as a legitimate investment.
This is called round-tripping.
"More than fifth of Mauritius'
imports come from India, amounting to over a $1 billion, making India
our second largest trading partner," Jugnauth said.
He invited
Indian business to invest in Mauritius, pointing to its strategic
location "in the cornerstone between India and Africa" and its World
Bank ranking as the "most business friendly country in Africa."
"Investments
in Mauritius will give Indian companies preferential market access to
the US and to Africa through the COMESA (Common Market for Eastern and
Southern Africa)," he said, adding that Indian businesses could also
profit from Mauritius' bilateral arrangements with many African
countries.
India-Mauritius trade in 2014-15 was worth around $1.9 billion.
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