India and Mauritius on Wednesday agreed to cooperate in combating terrorism and among other issues discussed the situation in Iraq and the reported supply of nuclear technology by Pakistan to North Korea.
Mauritian Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth will be the chief guest at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Earlier in the day, he and his wife Sarojini Devi were on Wednesday accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his cabinet colleagues.
Jugnauth, who is on a week-long visit to India, is among ten eminent Persons of Indian Origin to be honoured at the Bharatiya Pravasi Divas by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He told reporters in Delhi the Conference of Parliamentarians of Indian Origin on January ten as part of the three-day NRI convention would give a 'new dimension' to ties between India and other countries.
In the course of the day, Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani called on Jugnauth and discussed bilateral and other issues.
Advani told him that international cooperation needed to be strengthened as terrorism could strike anywhere. Both sides expressed readiness to cooperate in countering terrorism, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said.
External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha, who also called on Jugnauth, assured him that India would continue assisting Mauritius in human resource development and other areas.
The issue of revitalising Non-Aligned Movement in the context of the forthcoming NAM Summit in Kuala Lumpur in February also came up for discussion, the spokesman said.
During his stay, Jugnauth is expected to call on President A P J Abdul Kalam and Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat.
Jugnauth's visit comes after a gap of two years, official sources said.
PTI