Mauritius’s view of other countries is affected by its location, resources, history as a colony, politics at home, and economic needs. Mauritius has close ties with Britain, France, India, and, since 1990, South Africa as well. It was a member of the Commonwealth, and until 1992, Queen Elizabeth II was the head of state. It has good political and economic ties with Britain and gets a lot of help with development and technology from Britain. France is another country that used to be a colonial power. France gives Mauritius the most money and encourages the use of the French language there. France helps Mauritius in many ways besides trade, where it has traditionally been the country’s biggest supplier and either its biggest or second-biggest customer, especially for textiles. For example, France helped the island’s government departments get computerized, did road feasibility studies and highway maintenance, cared for livestock, and built a cannery. It also gave Mauritius a $60 million loan to build a large diesel-electric power station in the western part of the island, which was finished in 1992. Other French-funded infrastructure projects include the supply and installation of 30,000 more telephone lines by the French company Alcatel. For which a contract was signed in December 1988, and a five-year project by SCAC Delmas Vieljeux (SCV) to build a 90-hectare free-port area and related facilities at Port Louis here.
A boundary dispute with France
France and Mauritius have trouble getting along because Mauritius wants France to give up its claim to Tromelin Island, which is about 550 kilometers northwest of Mauritius and belongs to France. During the colonial period, France ran Tromelin from Mauritius. For several years, Mauritius has brought up the question of giving back the one-square-kilometer island where France has a weather station. In 1990, when French President Francois Mitterrand visited Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros, and Seychelles, Mauritius brought up its claim. Even though the issue has been talked about many times since then, it has not been settled.
Diplomatic relations with the EU
It also gets help from the European Union (EU) in economic areas. The EU helps in many areas, such as climate change, maritime safety, and training, by giving advice and money. Also, the EU recently gave money to help the country set up an E-Licensing Platform to make it easier for businesses to do business there.
Mauritius agrees that France’s military interests are valid, even though it backed the UN Indian Ocean Zone of Peace (IOZP) Resolution, which was passed in 1971 and called for the region to be demilitarized. The nearby island of Reunion, a French département, and the base for a military detachment are important to the French military. France has also given MR2.8 million worth of military gear and training to the Special Mobile Force of Mauritius.
Diplomatic relations with India
India has helped Mauritius with things like computer and high-sensing technology, radio, and telecommunications. Starting in 1991, India also helped build a science center and planetarium and increased the number of telephone lines from 60,000 to 100,000. At the beginning of the 1990s, It saw the new South Africa as an economic partner. It was willing to forget that in 1989, South Africans were accused of bringing drugs to Mauritius and trying to kill Prime Minister Jugnauth. A South African trade bureau was approved, and a health cooperation agreement was concluded in 1991 whereby Mauritians requiring complex medical procedures could obtain them in South African hospitals. In March 1992, the two countries started to work together at the consular level, and at the end of that year, a South African resort chain started to do business there.
Diplomatic relations with other Islands
It has sought to increase cooperation among its fellow island entities. In 1982 the country forged an agreement that created the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), whose members include Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros, and Reunion (represented by France). IOC members get together often to talk about social and economic issues. In 1989, the IOC set up its secretariat in Mauritius. Seychelles and Mauritius work together very closely in agriculture, education, energy, fishing, and transportation. Questions about trade and who owns Diego Garcia Island, a British territory where a US military base is located, have dominated relations between the US and them.
Diplomatic relations with Asian states
Mauritius has few trade ties with Asian countries that are becoming more industrialized, but those ties are growing, especially with Hong Kong and Japan. It is also very friendly with China. Even though it is part of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and has been against apartheid, Mauritius is closer to South Africa than to any other country on the continent. Most of these relationships are based on the economic need to get mostly manufactured goods from the closest developed country for less money. Mauritius is a member of the Nonaligned Movement as well as the OAU, the UN, and the Commonwealth. The World Bank, the IMF, and the European Development Bank have all helped it.
