Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Friday said Mauritius saw scope for exporting items such as textiles and marine products and was keen on signing a CEPA with India.

Jugnauth invited Indian companies to invest in Mauritius in sectors such as tourism, construction, textiles, telecommunication, IT and ITeS.

He was addressing a business meeting here, co-organized by FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII.

 Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation, Government of India, said that bilateral relations between India and Mauritius have continually deepened and this was evident from the wide range of agreements and MoUs signed between the two countries which include areas including taxation, air services, science and technology, tourism, environment, traditional system of medicine, among others.

Sanyal Desai, Senior Executive Member, ASSOCHAM and CEO, Radeecal Communications said that high level visits have been one of the significant aspects of bilateral relations between india and Mauritius.

The Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi visited Mauritius in March 2015 as the chief guest at the Mauritian National Day celebrations. He expressed satisfaction that the friendly relations between the two countries have been developing constantly with the persistent efforts by the leaders and the concerted efforts of the governments of both the sides.

Ramesh Kumar Mutha, Member, CII Africa Committee and Managing Director, Mohan Mutha Exports Pvt. Ltd. emphasised on strengthening bilateral economic cooperation in the sectors of agro and food processing industry, information technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals and infrastructure development.

"This visit of the Hon'ble Prime Minister, will add new dimensions to relationship of our two countries through enhanced business-to-business and people-to-people contacts. Our active interaction, which if nurtured further by greater and more strategic investment can turn Mauritius into a core investment area for India within the African continent.", Mutha added.

Rajeev Jyoti, National Executive Committee Member, FICCI and Chief Executive - Railway Business, Larsen & Toubro, highlighted the fact that Mauritius has constantly upped itself in the global index of "Ease of Doing Business" and is ranked amongst the top 20 countries worldwide, ahead of prominent favorites like Canada and the European Union.       

He said that with its multiple Free Trade Agreements with major Economic Blocs, strong banking sector and warm ethnic ties with India, Mauritius’s potential for regional economic cooperation remains unmatched in sectors like IT, tourism, infrastructure, textiles, telecommunication etc.