Friday, April 1 2005 16:28 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Port Louis: Assuring Mauritius of all possible assistance from India in meeting challenges of the globalisation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today (April 1, 2005) said that the two countries have a "vital stake" in ensuring that the world of tomorrow is the one that protects interests of pluralistic societies.

"We are marching together in areas of bio-technology, education and economic and technical cooperation. India will provide all possible assistance to Mauritius in meeting the challenges of globalisation by acquiring new economic capabilities," he told a gathering of eminent personalities from various walks of life, after unveiling a plaque at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre in Port Louis.

Singh, who is on a four-day official visit to this Indian Ocean island nation, said, "India has worked hard to make a success of unity in diversity. In the age of globalisation this experiment in nation building is of increasing relevance to the whole world.

"Mauritius and India have a vital stake in ensuring that the world of tomorrow is one that protects the interests of pluralistic societies."

The Prime Minister said that a true global society would in fact be a collection of all pluralistic societies living together harmoniously and in mutual interdependence.

Recalling Swami Vivekananda's address at the "Parliament of Religions" at Chicago giving a message of the essential oneness of spiritual values of all world religions, Singh said that India's message to the world then, as it is now, was that universal values must be allowed to be expressed by people of different nationalities, cultures and religions in their own ways.

The outstanding Mauritian leaders like Seewoosagar Ramgoolam and Aneeroodh Jugnauth were role models and a source of inspiration for the entire Indian diaspora all over the world, the Prime Minister said, adding people of the two countries have to build a strong edifice of progress of the firm foundation of shared values and heritage.

Observing that the world was changing very fast and new avenues have been opened up with the progress in science, technology and information and communication technology, Singh said, "Mauritius is our partner in this progress" and added that relations between the two countries cannot be fathomed in words.

India has provided a financial assistance of $ 15 million for the Convention Centre project, which was completed by a consortium of Indian companies Larsen and Toubro and Shapoorji and Pallonji in a record time of 18 months.