Mauritius govt dedicates metro station to Mahatma Gandhi as gesture of gratitude 

Mauritius government has dedicated a major metro station to Mahatma Gandhi as a gesture of gratitude for India’s support for the Metro Express project. “To pay gratitude to India’s support for the Metro Express project, my government has decided to name one of the major metro stations as Mahatma Gandhi station,” Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said while inaugurating the Social Housing Units Project in Mauritius along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
 
Both the heads of the state also virtually laid the foundation stone for the Civil Service College and 8 MW Solar PV Farm Project in Mauritius. Prime Minister Modi said that the India-Mauritius partnership has emerged as a key pillar of close ties. He also said that Mauritius is a prime example of India’s approach to partnership with countries based on the needs and priorities of our partners while respecting their sovereignty. 
 
This, however, is not all when it comes to India and Mauritius’ diplomatic reciprocity as both the countries have also exchanged a memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreement. Both the governments signed an MoU regarding Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of Small Development Projects. The governments also inked an agreement for $190 million Line of Credit between Export Import Bank of India (EXIM) and SBM (Mauritius) Infrastructure Development Company Limited for the ongoing Metro Express Project and other infrastructure projects.
 
For the unversed, the Government of India had extended a grant of $353 million to the Government of Mauritius as Special Economic Package (SEP) to execute five priority projects identified by the Mauritius government. These projects are – Metro Express Project, Supreme Court Building, New ENT Hospital, Supply of Digital Tablets to Primary School Children, and the Social Housing Project.
 
(With inputs from Geeta Mohan)