Signing and Exchange of Notes concerning the amendment of the Grant Assistance to the Republic of Mauritius

　On 2 March 2023, in Port Louis, capital of the Republic of Mauritius, Mr. KAWAGUCHI Shuichiro, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Mauritius, and Dr. the Hon. Renganaden PADAYACHY, Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development of the Republic of Mauritius, signed and exchanged notes concerning two grant assistances of “Economic and Social Development Programme" signed on 22 February 2021 and on 26 August 2021, respectively, for strengthening maritime security capacity. The notes were exchanged in order to amend the grant amount from 600 million Japanese Yen to 760 million Japanese Yen and from 600 million Japanese Yen to 740 million Japanese Yen, respectively, due to circumstances related to the changes of global economic activities affected by the worsening situation in Russia and Ukraine as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
1 The Republic of Mauritius is one of the most important countries in realising 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' as a maritime and democratic state located at a strategic point in the Indian Ocean and facing the main artery of global maritime traffic. However, as a small island state, the development of maritime security infrastructure is a challenge to the country.
 
2 These grant assistance programmes will contribute to strengthen Mauritius's maritime security capacity and to improve its maritime security infrastructure through the provision of coastal surveillance radar system.
 
3 Following the oil spill incident that occurred off the coast of Mauritius in August 2020, Japan has expressed its support for resolving the issue of ensuring the safety of maritime navigation in the country's territorial waters, and these programmes are part of the cooperation.
　In addition, at the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) held in August 2022, Japan expressed its support for the development of the Blue Economy, including maritime security. This cooperation is expected to contribute to the realisation of 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' and the TICAD 8 declaration by ensuring peace and stability through strengthening Mauritius' Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) capabilities.