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Mauritius Foreign Relations
The orientation of Mauritius toward other countries is
influenced by its location, resources, colonial past,
domestic
politics, and economic imperatives. Mauritius has
particularly
strong relations with Britain, France, India, and since
1990 with
South Africa. A member of the Commonwealth, Mauritius
recognized
Queen Elizabeth II as head of state until it became a
republic in
1992. Mauritius enjoys warm political relations and
important
economic ties with Britain, and receives significant
development
and technical assistance.
France, another former colonial power, provides
Mauritius
with its largest source of financial aid, and also
promotes the
use of the French language in Mauritius. In addition to
trade, in
which France has traditionally been Mauritius's largest
supplier
as well as its largest or second largest customer,
particularly
of textiles, France provides Mauritius with numerous kinds
of
assistance. For example, France has helped computerize the
island's government ministries, has performed road
feasibility
studies and highway maintenance, has undertaken livestock
services and the construction of a cannery, and has loaned
Mauritius US$60 million to construct a large
diesel-electric
power station in western Mauritius, completed in 1992.
Other
French-sponsored infrastructure projects have included the
French
firm Alcatel's supply and installation of 30,000
additional
telephone lines, a contract awarded in December 1988, and
a fiveyear project scheduled to begin construction in January
1995 by
SCAC Delmas Vieljeux (SCV) to create a ninety-hectare
free-port
area and attendant facilities at Port Louis. The intent is
that
the free port should serve as a means for attracting
African
trade under the Preferential Trade Area for Eastern and
Southern
Africa.
An area of tension between France and Mauritius relates
to
the latter's claim to Tromelin Island, some 550 kilometers
northwest of Mauritius, which France retained when
Mauritius
received its independence. Tromelin had been governed by
France
from Mauritius during the colonial period and Mauritius
for a
number of years has raised the question of the return of
the one
square kilometer island where France has a meteorological
observation station. When French president François
Mitterrand
visited Mauritius (along with Madagascar, Comoros, and
Seychelles) in 1990, Mauritius raised its claim; despite
several
subsequent discussions, the matter has not been resolved.
Mauritius acknowledges the legitimacy of France's
military
interests even though it supported the UN Indian Ocean
Zone of
Peace (IOZP) Resolution (adopted in 1971) calling for the
demilitarization of the region. French military interests
include
the neighboring island of Reunion, a French
département
and headquarters for a military detachment. France has
also
provided the Special Mobile Force of Mauritius with MR2.8
million
worth of military equipment and training.
India, which has deep social and historical links with
a
large portion of the population of Mauritius, is the
country's
second largest source of foreign assistance. India has
devoted a
large share of aid to cultural ventures, such as the
Mahatma
Gandhi Institute, a library and language school opened in
1976.
Apart from traditional cultural and trade relations of
Mauritius with India, the two countries have exchanged
visits by
their leading officials in recent years; have engaged in
numerous
joint ventures, particularly in the textiles area; and
have
signed cooperation agreements in various spheres. For
example, in
1990 cooperation agreements were concluded in the fields
of
agriculture; oceanography; maritime resources, including
the
exploitation of Mauritius's EEZ; science and technology;
drug
trafficking; and sports and youth affairs. India has
provided
Mauritius with technical expertise, such as computer and
high
sensing technology, radio and telecommunications, further
expansion of Mauritius's telephone lines from 60,000 to
100,000
lines over a three-year period beginning in 1991, and the
creation of a science center and planetarium.
In the early 1990s, Mauritius saw the new South Africa
as a
partner, particularly in an economic sense, and was
willing to
forget charges that in 1989 South Africans had engaged in
drug
trafficking to Mauritius and had sought to assassinate
Prime
Minister Jugnauth. A South African trade bureau was
approved in
1990, a health cooperation agreement was concluded in 1991
whereby Mauritians requiring complex medical procedures
could
obtain them in South African hospitals, and President
Frederik
Willem de Klerk visit Mauritius in November 1991. The two
countries initiated diplomatic relations at the consular
level in
March 1992, and a South African resort chain began
activities in
Mauritius in late 1992.
Mauritius 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 have met regularly to
discuss social and economic relations, and in 1989 the IOC
established its secretariat in Mauritius. Mauritius has
particularly close cooperation with Seychelles in the
fields of
agriculture, education, energy, fishing, and
transportation.
Relations between the United States and Mauritius have
been
dominated by questions of trade and sovereignty over Diego
Garcia
Island, a British possession that is the site of a United
States
military base. Exports from Mauritius, mostly textiles,
have
grown from US$28 million in 1982 to US$120 million in
1987.
United States import quotas have restricted the amount of
Mauritian exports, however. Mauritian imports from the
United
States have increased from US$11 million in 1986 to US$48
million
in 1991.
The question of Diego Garcia is a complex one.
Mauritius
ceded control over the Chagos Archipelago (including Diego
Garcia) to Britain in exchange for 3 million pounds
sterling in
1965 as one tacit precondition for independence. Despite
UN
objections to British control of the islands, Britain
leased
Diego Garcia to the United States in 1966 for fifty years.
The
United States established a major military base on the
island,
including anchorage facilities for large numbers of ships,
an
airfield capable of handling B-52s, and a satellite
communications facility. After a period of relative
indifference
to the fate of the Chagos Archipelago following its
cession,
Mauritian governments since the late 1980s have called for
its
return to Mauritian sovereignty. There was no indication
in 1994
that Britain or the United States was willing to
acquiesce.
Differences of opinion notwithstanding, between 1982 and
1987 the
United States provided Mauritius with US$56.2 million in
aid,
mainly for development.
Mauritius has limited but growing trade relations with
the
industrializing countries of Asia, particularly Hong Kong
and
Japan. It also has close relations with China. Although it
belongs to the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and has
been
an opponent of apartheid, Mauritius has closer links to
South
Africa than to any other country on the continent. These
relations are based in large part on the economic exigency
of
obtaining mainly manufactured goods more cheaply from the
closest
developed country.
In addition to membership in the OAU, UN, and
Commonwealth,
Mauritius belongs to the Nonaligned Movement. It has
received
assistance from the World Bank, the IMF, and the European
Development Bank.
* * *
For an excellent overview of the history, society,
economy
and foreign relations of Mauritius, see Larry W. Bowman's
Mauritius: Democracy and Development in the Indian
Ocean.
The best in-depth account of the country's
pre-independence
history, with special attention to the twentieth century,
is
Modern Mauritius by Adele Smith Simmons.
Particularly
useful for detailed and current economic and political
information are publications of the Economist Intelligence
Unit:
the annual Country Profile: Mauritius, Seychelles
and the
quarterly Country Report: Madagascar, Mauritius,
Seychelles,
Comoros.
Other useful works include Mauritius: Development of
a
Plural Society by A.R. Mannick; The Economic and
Social
Structure of Mauritius by J.E. Meade, et al.; and the
World
Bank publication, Mauritius: Managing Success.
Updates of
mainly economic news appear in African Economic
Digest and
Marchés tropicaux et méditerranéens. (For further
information and complete citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of August 1994
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