India, Mauritius to fast-track long-pending DTAA revision

NEW DELHI: India and Mauritius have agreed to fast-track the long-pending revision of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) to prevent abuse of the convention. DTAA has allegedly allowed stashing of unaccounted money from India in Mauritius, which is one of India’s key security partners in the Indian Ocean Region where China has growing ambitions.

Even as the two countries expanded their security partnership through India’s presence in the Agalega island of Mauritius and handing over an indigenously made naval vessel, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart Sir Anerood Jugnauth expressed their resolve to prevent misuse of DTAA.

The PM is in Port Louis and was chief guest at Mauritius National Day celebrations on Thursday. He also addressed Mauritius National Assembly, where he stressed on common heritage and strong people-to-people contacts.

Besides India’s $500 million concessional line of credit for key infrastructure projects in Mauritius, the two countries signed five agreements, including one on developing ocean economy, on late Wednesday night. Launching the naval vessel for safeguarding Mauritius’ maritime coast, Modi took an indirect dig at China and said that India seeks trust, respect for international maritime routes and sensitivity to each other’s interests.

China has been increasing its influence in Indian Ocean Region, which is primarily viewed as India’s extended neighbourhood. Addressing a joint news conference with Modi on Wednesday night, Jugnauth said he had raised with the Indian PM issues related to the Mauritius-India DTAA.