Seychelles: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Seychelles President Dr. Patrick Herminie on Sunday held wide-ranging bilateral talks during the Prime Minister’s State visit, agreeing to deepen cooperation across key sectors, including health, education, digital transformation, renewable energy, maritime security and defence.
The talks, held at the State House in Victoria, covered the full spectrum of India-Seychelles relations. The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and global developments, with a focus on challenges facing the Indian Ocean region, including illegal fishing, drug trafficking and piracy.
Both sides reviewed the progress of projects being implemented under India’s Special Economic Package for Seychelles. Modi reaffirmed India’s commitment to supporting the island nation’s development priorities and strengthening the long-standing strategic partnership.
Following the talks, the two leaders unveiled a commemorative logo marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles. They also oversaw the exchange of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) covering capacity building, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), health, agriculture, shipping, space cooperation, extradition and a ₹1,250-crore Line of Credit extended by India.
The two countries also announced new initiatives in food security, infrastructure, healthcare, vocational training, maritime security and defence. Seychelles further announced its decision to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an India-led global initiative.
Later in the day, Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to address the National Assembly of Seychelles. In his address, he highlighted the historic friendship between the two countries, shared democratic values and expanding cooperation in development, maritime security, technology, healthcare and capacity building. He also called for stronger parliamentary exchanges between the two democracies.
During the visit, the Leader of the Opposition in Seychelles, Bernard Georges, also met Prime Minister Modi. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the special friendship and bilateral partnership between India and Seychelles.
