(a) the details of the institutional arrangements made for bilateral cooperation between India and Mauritius in the field of rural development and poverty alleviation;
(b) the details of major gains for the country from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries in the said field;
(c) whether a Joint Committee on Cooperation on Rural Development has been established for this purpose; and
(d) if so, the details thereof and the findings of the Committee thereon?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAM KRIPAL YADAV)
(a) : The bilateral cooperation between India and Mauritius in the field of Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation is between the National Development Unit, Prime Minister’s Office of the Republic of Mauritius and the Ministry of Rural Development of the Republic of India in the sphere of rural development. The details of the Institutional Arrangements will be decided when the Joint Committee on cooperation on Rural Development is established under the MoU.
(b) : The major gains for the country from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries in the said field of Rural Development are as below:
(i) Exchange of relevant information and documents in the sphere of rural development, including scientific and technical information together with policies and support measures adopted to foster rural development.
(ii) Exchange of relevant information on issues of mutual interest and endeavoring to evolve a common position, at regional and international fora.
(iii) Undertake exchange visits on programmes such as familiarization tours to foster sharing of experience.
(iv) Collaborate to strengthen mutual human resource capacity through sector – specific in- country training in Mauritius and training at reputed institutions in India through customized schemes.
(v) Facilitate the transfer of latest technology, state of the art equipment and materials, and share best practices.
(c) & (d): No Madam, the Joint Committee on Rural Development has not been established yet.
The MoU envisages the establishment of a Joint Committee on Cooperation on Rural Development from both countries to steer forward the implementation of the MoU . As a precursor to the establishment of the Joint Committee, a meeting was held on 22nd Feb. 2017 between Secretary (RD) and Permanent Secretary, PMO of the Republic of Mauritius in which the composition of the Joint Committee to be established under the MoU and the institutional arrangements for implementing the MoU by involving Ministries/Departments of Agriculture, Health, Nutrition, Animal Husbandry and Tourism were discussed. The Permanent Secretary, Mauritius had suggested that the Committee would be finalized and the details of the composition of the Committee would be conveyed within six weeks. This Ministry has written to E&SA division, MEA requesting to expedite the information regarding composition of the Joint Committee on Cooperation on Rural Development from the Govt. of Mauritius. After receiving the composition of the above Joint Committee, the composition of Joint Committee of India comprising of skill set of 5 to 7 officials will be decided.
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