Embassy of India

Antananarivo, Madagascar

Strategically located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean between northern Madagascar and northern Mozambique, Comoros is predominantly a Muslim country with 98% population following Sunni Islam. The commonly used language is Shikomoro (Swahili dialect). French and Arabic are also widely spoken. Around 60% of the population is literate.

Indian Diaspora

2.    The Indian Diaspora comprises of around 250 persons and majority of them are engaged in trade and business. The role played by the Indian community in the overall development of Comoros is highly appreciated at all levels. The Indian Diaspora has been playing significant role in promoting Indian culture and traditional values in Comoros. In recent years, a number of young professionals have started working for some foreign companies in Comoros.

Diplomatic Relations

3.    India established its diplomatic relations with the Union of Comoros in June 1976. Our Embassy in Antananarivo is concurrently accredited to Comoros. India and Comoros have always enjoyed close and friendly relations. Both the countries have similarities of view on regional and global issues. Comoros is a supporter of India’s permanent membership of the UNSC. 

4.    Comoros joined IORA in November 2012 – a regional forum consisting of coastal countries bordering the Indian Ocean.

5. Hon’ble EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar called on President of Comoros, Azali Assoumani on the sidelines of 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 20 September 2022. EAM welcomed President’s appreciation for India’s outreach in combating Covid-19 and dengue. They also discussed about taking forward the development partnership and working together on maritime security.

6. Hon’ble EAM Dr. S. Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with the Comorian Foreign Minister in April 2020. As a result, a 14-member medical assistance team visited Comoros. 

7.    12 diplomats from Comoros took part in the 1st Special Course for diplomats of the Indian Ocean Region at Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service, Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi from 20 September - 01 October 2021.

8.    Ambassador of India to Comoros Shri Abhay Kumar visited Comoros in May 2022 and held a number of meetings with members of Comorian Government. Ambassador met Foreign Minister H.E. Dhoihir Dhoulkamal of Comoros on 19 May 2022. They reviewed progress made in bilateral ties between India and Comoros. Ambassador also met Mr. Miroidi ABDOU IDAROUSSE, Head of the ONICOR, the State Procurement Agency of Comoros on 19 May 2022. They discussed ways to enhance trade between India and Comoros. Ambassador visited the project site of 18 MW Heavy Fuel power plant being built in Moroni, Comoros by a Line of Credit from EXIM bank of India on 21 May 2022 along with the project director Mr.  YADA MZE Halifa and reviewed its progress. The Ambassador also visited Comoros in August 2022 and called on H.E. President Azali Assoumani of Comoros. During the meeting, President Azali called India a brotherly nation with which Comoros has civilisational ties.

Bilateral Visits from Comoros to India 

9.    A number of VVIP/High-Level visits from Comoros to India have taken place. These are as follows:

Sl. No.	Name of the Visitor	Date of visit	Purpose
1.	Mr. Souef Mohamed El-Amine,  Minister of External Relations & Cooperation	August 2004	Bilateral visit
2.	Mr. Ahmed Ben Said Djaffer  Minister of External Relations & Cooperation	July 2006	Bilateral visit
3.	Mr. Ahmed Abdullah Mohamed Sambi, President of Comoros	4-8 November, 2007	To participate in the 4th International Conference on Federalism.
4.	Mr. Fahmi Said Ibrahim Minister of External Relations & Cooperation	18-19 February 2011	To attend the LDCs Conference
5.	Mr. Mohamed Issimail Minister for National Education	01-02 March 2012	To participate in India-Africa Science & Technology Ministerial Meeting
6.	Mr. Mohamed Bakri Ben Abdoulafatah Charif, Minister of External Relations & Cooperation	02 November 2012	To participate in the Council of Ministers Meeting of Indian Ocean Rim-Association for Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC)
7.	Mr. Mohamed Ali Soilihi Vice President in-charge of Finance Ministry	21-23 February 2013	To sign Agreement with EXIM Bank for grant of US$ 41.6 million LOC
8.	Mr. Mohamed Ali Soilihi Vice President in-charge of Finance Ministry	21-23 October 2015	4t h India Africa Trade Ministers Meeting (IATM)
9.	Dr.Ikililou Dhoinine, President of Comoros	23-29 October 2015	IAFS III Summit
10.	Dr.Abdulkarim Mohamed, Minister of Foreign Affairs	January 2016	Ist India Arab League Ministerial Conference, Manama
11.	Mr.Azali Assoumani, President	10-12 March 2018	Led 16-member delegation including Foreign Minister El-Souef Amine for the Founding Conference of the International Solar Alliance in New Delhi.
12.	Mr. Moustadroine Abdou, Minister of Energy, Agriculture, Fisheries & Environment	3 October, 2018.	Led the Comorian delegation in the First General Assembly meeting of the International Solar Alliance member countries in New Delhi
13.	A 3-member Comorian delegation led by Mr. Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, Minister of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation,  Union of Comoros	3-5 Feb, 2021	To take part in the Aero India 2021 and IOR Defence Ministers Conclave in Bangalore and had a meeting with Hon’ble Defence Minister of India Shri Rajnath Singh.
14.	Mr. Moudjib Rahmane Adaine, the Chief of Comorian Coast Guard	7-9 November 2021.	Goa Maritime Conclave 2021
15.	Mr. Moudjib Rahmane Adaine, the Chief of Comorian Coast Guard	24-28 February 2022	MILAN 2022.

Bilateral Visits from India to Comoros:  

10.    Former Minister of State for Science & Technology, Mr. Y.S. Chowdary visited Comoros as Special Envoy of the Prime Minister of India on 25-26 August, 2015. 

11.    Hon’ble Vice-President of India visited Comoros from 10-12 October, 2019. Following six MoUs were signed during the visit of the Hon’ble Vice-President of India to Comoros from 10-12 October, 2019:

Sl.	Name of the MoU / Agreement
1	MoU on Exemption of Visa Diplomatic and Official / Service Passport Holders
2	MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Arts & Culture
3	MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Defence
4	MoU for Cooperation in the Field of Health & Medicine
5	Protocol for Consultations between India and Comoros
6	MoU for Participation in the e-VBAB Network Project.

    Following announcements of grants were made during the visit of the Hon’ble Vice-President of India (HVPI) to Comoros from 10-12 October, 2019:

1. Medicines and medical equipment worth US$ 1 mn.

2.    Transport vehicles worth US$ 1 mn

3.   Interceptor Boats worth US$ 2 mn

4.    Supply of 1000 MT of rice. (Delivered on 15 March, 2021 during the visit of INS Jalashwa to Comoros, received by Foreign Minister Dhoihir Dhoulkamal on behalf of Govt. of Comoros.)

Development Assistance/HADR

12.    In December 2012, Government of India provided US$ 100,000/- as assistance to Comoros for losses suffered on account of torrential rains in April 2012.  The Pan-African e-Network started its operations in Comoros in September 2010.

13. In January 2022, Government of India approved the donation of Anti TB Drugs available under NTEP (National Tuberculosis Elimination Program) to Comoros. The drugs were delivered to Comoros in July 2022.

 COVID-19 related assistance

14.    In response to the two requests received from the Government of Comoros for supply of medicines including 600mg Chloroquine and 250mg Azythromycin sufficient for treatment of 5000 patients and medical assistance in dealing with Covid-19 situation, during telephonic conversation between the Foreign Minister of Comoros and EAM, a 14-member Medical Assistance Team visited from India onboard INS Kesari from 1 to 18 June, 2020 as India’s support to Comoros in fight against spread of Dengue and Covid-19 in the country. The medical team visited three islands of Comoros Anjouan, Moheli and Grand Comore and a consignment of medicines as relief assistance was also donated by India to Comoros in support of its fight against Covid-19 pandemic. India has offered Covid-19 vaccine to Comoros.

Donation of 1000 tonnes of Rice

15.    INS Jalashwa visited the port of Anjouan in Comoros from 14-18 March 2021 to deliver 1000 MT of rice in fulfilment of the announcement of donation of rice made during the visit of the Hon’ble Vice-President of India to Comoros in Oct 2019.  The consignment of rice was received by the Hon’ble Minister of Foreign Affairs of Comoros, H.E. Mr. Dhoihir Dhoulkamal.  The formal presentation ceremony of the consignment was held on 15 March 2021 and Ambassador Abhay Kumar also participated in it virtually.

18 MW Power Project

16.    EXIM Bank of India had offered a concessional credit of US$41.6 million in the year 2013 for setting up a power plant in Moroni and the same has been accepted by Comoros. An Agreement to implement the LOC has been signed and the foundation stone for the project, laid in July 2015. A consortium of BHEL and Indian company Overseas Infrastructure Alliance (OIA) Ltd. are the contractors of the project. 

Defence Relations

17.    A Line of Credit for USD 20 mn for procurement of Boats during the visit of the Hon’ble Vice-President of India to Comoros from 10-12 October, 2019.

18.    Goa Maritime Symposium: Two officers of the Comorian Coast Guard participated in the online video conference of the Goa Maritime Symposium from 11-13 May 2021.

19.    MILAN 2022: Two officers of the Comorian Coast Guard participated in the online Mid-planning conference for MILAN 2022 on 18 November 2021.

20.    Technical Assistance: Indian Naval Ship Kesari visited Comoros on 7 January 2022 to extend technical assistance to the Comorian Coast Guard.The visit came as a response to the request made by the Comorian Coast Guard (CCG) to the Indian Navy during the Goa Maritime Conclave 2021 for providing technical assistance in repairing a grounded patrol vessel of CCG: P002-M' kombozi.

 ITEC, ICCR& IAFS Scholarships 

21.    Details of last four years are as follows:

Training programme/ Scholarship	2018-19		2019-20		2020-21		2021-22		2022-23
	Allotted	Utilized	Allotted	Utilized	Allotted	Utilized	Allotted	Utilized	Allotted	Utilized
ITEC	25	14	15	13	-	-	15	-	15	-
IAFS-II/III	--		--	8	-	-
FSI Course	1		--	--	-	-
ICCR General scholarship	9	1	9	3	9	2	5	4	5	3
ilearn portal (e-VBAB)									3	3

Commercial Relations:

22.    India was the second largest export destination of Comoros (IMF, 2020). Comoros as an LDC, is also a beneficiary under GoIs Duty Free Tariff Preference scheme introduced in April 2008.

23.    Balance of Trade – The total export and import figures of India with respect to Comoros available on Export-Import Data Bank of Department of Commerce, Government of India for the last five years is given below:

Bilateral Trade Figures (US Dollar Million)

	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22
India’s Export	19.29	18.88	18.26	23.05
India’s Import	32.39	19.65	12.48	14.87
Total Trade	51.68	38.52	30.74	37.91

Source: DGFT

24.    Main Items of Import and Export: The main items of import from Comoros to India are coffee, tea, mate and spices, iron and steel, copper and articles thereof, aluminium and articles thereof, electrical machinery and equipment etc. and the main items of export from India to Comoros are meat and edible meat offal, cotton, cereals, sugar, pharmaceutical products, soap, washing preparations, plastic and articles thereof, articles of apparel and clothing accessories etc.

Cultural Relations

25.    An ICCR-sponsored Indian Contemporary Dance Group visited Moroni and performed at the Comorian National Assembly Hall on 28 August, 2018. This was the first ever visit by an Indian dance group to Comoros. The event was attended by the Comorian President along with First Lady, the Foreign Minister, Speaker of the National Assembly as well as a few other Ministers and senior dignitaries. One Comorian national participated in Kumbh Mela celebrations organised by the Indian Council of Cultural Relations from 21-24 March, 2019. Festival of India is planned in Comoros. A 15-member delegation participated from Comoros in the Surajkund Mela from 1-16 February, 2020 in India.

26.    All eight editions of International Day of Yoga have been celebrated in Moroni, Comoros to coincide with the worldwide celebrations of IDY. Persons from a cross section of Comorian society, which included local senior government dignitaries, members of diplomatic corps and Indian diaspora, participate in the event. Ambassador participated in the preparations of 8th International Yoga Day celebrations in Moroni on 21 May 2022 organised by members of Indian diaspora and Yoga practitioners in Comoros.

Connectivity

27.    Flight connections to India are via Kenya and Ethiopia. No direct flights are available between India and Comoros.

Resources:

www.eoiantananarivo.gov.in

https://www.facebook.com/IndiainAntananarivoMadagascar/?ref=bookmarks 

https://twitter.com/IndembTana 

https://www.instagram.com/indiainmadagascar/