India finalising agreement to supply oil, gas to Mauritius: Jaishankar

India is finalising an agreement for the supply of oil and gas to Mauritius to strengthen its energy security amid the crisis due to the West Asia conflict, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said Port Louis on Thursday. Jaishankar, who is in Mauritius to attend the 9th Indian Ocean Conference, said the ongoing crisis in West Asia as Mauritius Prime Minister Navin Ramgoolam reminded him, has underscored the importance of strategic partnerships, especially in the energy sector.
“We are finalising a government-to-government agreement for the supply of oil and gas, which will play an important role in reinforcing energy security for Mauritius,” he said. Jaishankar said he was also pleased to note that an Indian public sector enterprise was developing the country’s first floating solar power project. “India and Mauritius share an expanding and dynamic partnership in clean energy and environment-friendly solutions,” the EAM said. “Building on our cooperation in renewable energy, including the 8 MW solar power plant at Henrietta, we also work closely with the International Solar Alliance and the Global Biofuels Alliance,” Jaishankar said. “In the span of just over a year, the partnership between our nations has witnessed remarkable and substantive progress,” he said.
Jaishankar said he called on the prime minister for wide-ranging discussions on various facets of bilateral relationship, encompassing maritime cooperation, development partnership, health, education, capacity building, and people-to-people ties. Jaishankar, after concluding his Mauritius trip, will visit the United Arab Emirates from April 11 to 12. The West Asia war and Iran’s chokehold of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway through which a fifth of global oil passes, had halted shipping and sent global oil prices soaring.