Anerood Jugnauth
Prime Minister

(pronounced "ah-neh-ROOD joo-NO")

"…a small island state like Mauritius can only progress if we open up our economy to foreign investment and technology and follow liberal and investment-friendly policies."

The Republic of Mauritius lies in the Indian Ocean approximately 800 km (497 mi) east of Madagascar. It is comprised of the volcanic island of Mauritius as well as the Rodrigues, the Agalega islands, and the Cargados Carajos shoals. In total, the territory covers 1,860 sq km (718 sq mi) and had a population estimated at 1,200,206 in 2002. Like other previously uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean, the diverse population of Mauritius is the result of successive waves of explorers, colonists, traders, and workers who have settled there.

When the British abolished slavery in 1835, the sugar plantations—a mainstay of the Mauritian economy—could no longer rely on sources of imported labor from the...