Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri with the Prime Minister of the Republic of Mauritius, Navinchandra RamgoolamNEW DELHI: India and Mauritius have deepened cooperation in the oil and gas sector, with Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOC) entering into a five-year agreement to supply the island nation’s entire import requirement of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel.The agreements were exchanged Thursday during petroleum minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s two-day visit to Mauritius. Mauritius PM Navinchandra Ramgoolam was also present at the event.The long-term sales and purchase agreement with Mauritius’s State Trading Corporation will provide assured fuel supplies to the island nation and help shield it from price volatility. It covers the supply of petroleum products as well as training and capacity building for Mauritian officials and cooperation in biofuels.It is the first long-term supply agreement signed by an Indian PSU oil marketing company outside South Asia in recent years, govt said. The MoU on biofuels provides for exchange of knowledge and cooperation in research and training.The agreement comes as India seeks to expand its role as a supplier of refined petroleum products in the Indian Ocean region. With 23 refineries and combined annual refined petroleum products output of around 267 million tonnes, India is a net exporter of petroleum products. It already meets the petroleum demand of Nepal and Bhutan and supplies refined products to several other countries in the region and beyond.