A 12-feet statue of Maratha warrior-king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was unveiled in Mauritius’s Maharashtra Bhavan on Friday to mark the strong bond between the two nations.
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Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth was joined by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and members of the Mauritius Marathi Mandali Federation for the inauguration ceremony.
The sculpture was created in India by a Delhi-based artist and sent to the island nation in a container ship.
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The country has over 75,000 Marathi-speaking population and a Maharashtra Bhavan was built 25 years ago with funding from the Maharashtra government. Recently, the Shinde-Fadnavis government sanctioned an additional ₹8 crore for the second phase of construction.
Earlier in the day, Mr. Fadnavis attended a string of meetings, including an event organised by the Indo-Mauritius Business Forum during which he urged the industrial giants to come forward and invest in Maharashtra.
An MoU was also signed between the Economic Development Board, Mauritius, and the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation to establish a platform for investment between the Western State and the island nation.
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Mr. Fadnavis thanked Alan Ganoo, Minister of Land Transport and Light Rail of Mauritius, for inviting him and said, “Today is a historic day for Maharashtra-Mauritius friendship.”
“Maharashtra government is continuously working on Ease of Doing Business and Cost of Doing Business. The MoU that was signed today will open more opportunities for entrepreneurs in Mauritius,” he said, adding that ‘Speed of Travel’ and ‘Speed of Data’ are characteristic of Maharashtra.
On Saturday, he will interact with members of the Maharashtrian community, and will also call on Mauritian President Prithvirajsing Roopun before returning to Mumbai.