Cabinet approves MoU between India, Mauritius in field of Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Mauritius.

The MoU will help to establish a framework for cooperation between the National Development Unit, Prime Minister's Office of the Republic of Mauritius and the Ministry of Rural Development of the Republic of India in the sphere of rural development.

The MoU will encourage cooperation in the field of rural development and capacity building on the basis of equality and mutual benefit between both countries.

Under the MoU, a Joint Committee on Cooperation on Rural Development will be established which will meet alternatively in both countries on mutually agreed dates.

The MoU will come into effect from the date of its signature.

Both countries have agreed to coordinate and facilitate appropriate technical cooperation, including the access to Indian expertise institutions that can assist in fulfilling the objectives of this MoU, exchange of relevant information and documents in the sphere of rural development, including scientific and technical information together with policies and support measures adopted to foster rural development, cooperation by exchanging relevant information on issues of mutual interest, undertaking exchange visits on programmes to foster sharing of experience, collaboration to strengthen their human resource capacity through sector-specific in-country training in Mauritius and training at reputed institutions in India through customized schemes and facilitating the transfer of latest technology, state of the art equipment and materials, and share best practices.

An institutional arrangement for bilateral cooperation between India and Mauritius in the field of rural development and poverty alleviation was under consideration for some time.

Both countries have a large segment of their population living in rural areas and are pre-dominantly dependent on agriculture and its allied activities for their livelihoods.

The Ministry of Rural Development plays a pivotal role in the overall development strategy of rural areas of the country.