India, Mauritius to hold trade talks next month

NEW DELHI: India and Mauritius will meet next month for talks to chalk out the contours of ‘economic cooperation’ under the trade agreement being discussed. India has sought tariff concessions on 400 items while Mauritius’ wish list comprises 600 products. “The negotiations are on right track...the agreement is of strategic importance to us,” said an official privy to details.

The India Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement or CECPA spans across four elements — goods, services, investment and economic cooperation.

However, a sticking point could be certain items on India’s sensitive list where it can’t give tariff concessions. Besides, India is also looking for strong value addition norms to ensure that no raw materials, which enjoy duty cuts, come from any place other than Mauritius itself.


India’s exports to Mauritius grew 3% on year to $883 million in 2016-17 while imports from Mauritius are negligible at $18.3 million in 2016-17 after contracting 10% from the previous year.

Apart from goods, the two countries have identified around 50 areas where partnerships can happen including tourism, education and capacity building in marine production. Mauritius is the single largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) to India. FDI inflows from Mauritius to India stood at $15.7 billion in 2016-17, almost 34% of the total FDI inflows into the country.