PORT LOUIS, (Mauritius): Mauritius inaugurated on Thursday an Indian-financed air strip and jetty on the island of Agalega, but denied the remote islet would be used for military purposes.
An investigation by news broadcaster Al Jazeera in 2021 said India was building a secret naval base on Agalega, much to the chagrin of its approximately 300 inhabitants.
“There has never been a project to turn Agalega into a military base,” Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth said. “I strongly deplore and condemn the India-bashing campaign fomented by some people in Mauritius and abroad.”
The three kilometre (1.9-mile) air strip and jetty were agreed upon during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to Mauritius and cost 8.8 billion mauritian rupees ($192 million). Jugnauth said the infrastructures would help the Indian Ocean island modernise and strengthen its security.
“They will strengthen the fight against drugs, human trafficking and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and will enable emergency response,” he said.
An archipelago of four islands, Mauritius also includes Saint-Brandon and Rodrigues, which has had an autonomous status since 2001.
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