BANK OF BARODA

Mauritius

58^th Foundation Day

19 October 2019

REMARKS

High Commissioner Tanmaya Lal

A very good evening everyone.

I thank Bank of Baroda for inviting me here this evening. I also thank Mr. Ritesh Kumar and his colleagues for the remarks and the presentations that they just made. They provide a useful context to this evening's interaction.

A few days back we had met at this very venue, when we celebrated a long innings by another Indian PSU the New India Assurance in Mauritius

Today we are celebrating the fine, continuing long innings of Bank of Baroda.

The company had opened its branch in Mauritius nearly six decades back, as far back as 1962, before the country's independence and may I say even before many of us were born.

Bank of Baroda is among the three Indian PSUs which were active in Mauritius even during the colonial times.

The Bank itself was started more than 110 years ago in India. I understand that the Bank today serves more than 125 million customers, especially building bridges with Diaspora in 21 countries. Its first overseas operations were started in 1950s in East Africa Kenya where I served some years ago.

Today Bank of Baroda is India's second largest bank after the State Bank of India, which also has a presence in Mauritius.

Such a long successful legacy of the Bank means that the business entity has been able to consistently provide value to its customers in a fast changing world.

It also means that it has been able to adapt to all the changes and transformations in the business environment that have taken place during the past several decades.

Here in Mauritius, the Bank of Baroda has been a witness to the country's independence, its becoming a republic and also the series of economic transformations that Mauritius has undergone.

As an aside, as some of you would know, the High Commission of India, itself was located in a Bank of Baroda building in Port Louis in the initial decades, before we shifted to the LIC building.

It is a matter of pride for us that the Bank of Baroda is an Indian Public Sector Undertaking and has carried the Indian flag, in a sense, in Mauritius and in so many other countries

There is considerable engagement between our two countries in the financial sector. There is considerable potential to increase our business linkages through trade and investment, especially considering the advantages that Mauritius offers as a gateway to Africa.

Bank of Baroda is one among 10 Indian PSUs that are active in Mauritius. You are familiar with the others also, such as the LIC or State Bank or New India Assurance or Indian Oil, MTML, TCIL, etc. These cover banking, insurance, telecom, fuel retail, construction and other sectors

We are also proud of our partnership with Mauritius in its development journey Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the much anticipated Metro Express and the New ENT Hospital through video conference earlier this month.

We are happy that the Indian consultant and contractor RITES and L&T have delivered the first phase of this project absolutely in record time. These projects also mark another major chapter in India-Mauritius partnership.

May again congratulate the Bank of Baroda on their founding day in Mauritius and wish them continued success in working with their clients in India, in Mauritius and worldwide.

Before concluding, may I also offer my best wishes and greetings to all of you in this festive season.

Thank you