Indian Services Expansion: Strengthening Economic Ties with Sri Lanka and Mauritius
India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) services made their debut in Sri Lanka and Mauritius on Monday, signaling a significant step in modernizing digital connectivity between these nations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed this development as a fusion of historical ties with contemporary digital technology.
Furthermore, India’s RuPay card services were inaugurated in Mauritius during a virtual ceremony attended by Prime Minister Modi, Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, and Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
During his address, Modi expressed optimism about the transformative potential of these new fintech services for both countries. He emphasized that UPI was undertaking the critical responsibility of fostering stronger ties between India and its partners.
“Today is a special day for the three friendly countries of the Indian Ocean Region as we are linking our historic ties with modern digital technology,” he said.”I believe that Sri Lanka and Mauritius will benefit from the UPI system,” Modi said.
The prime minister said digital public infrastructure has brought about a revolutionary change in India. He also highlighted India’s focus on its “neighbourhood first policy”.”Be it a natural disaster, health-related, economic or supporting on the international stage, India has been the first responder, and will continue to be so,” he said.
The launch of the Indian services in Sri Lanka and Mauritius came amid New Delhi’s increasing bilateral economic ties with the two countries.The move enables the availability of UPI settlement services for Indian nationals travelling to Sri Lanka and Mauritius as well as for Mauritian nationals travelling to India.