Modi congratulates Mauritius PM Jugnauth on re-election

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his Mauritius counterpart Pravind Kumar Jugnauth on Saturday after the latter was re-elected for a five-year term in office in the recently concluded elections in the island nation.

Mauritius shares strong historical and political ties with India with around 68 per cent of its population being of Indian descent. The island nation is also strategically important for India given its location in the Indian Ocean Region, besides the fact that India is also its largest trading partner.

"Congratulations @PKJugnauth on your electoral victory. We have worked closely together to strengthen fraternal relations and development partnership between India and Mauritius. I look forward to speaking with you soon and continuing our engagement.@MauritiusPM," tweeted Modi.

The ruling Militant Socialist Movement (MSM) party of Mauritius won 38 of the 62 seats in the country's Parliament polls that were held on Thursday.

The MSM's rivals, the Labour Party and the Mauritian Militant Movement (MMM), won 13 and 9 seats, respectively, while two seats were won by the Organisation of the People of Rodrigues party.

India has also assisted Mauritius in the past to set up a number of important infrastructure projects in the country.