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| Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of the Republic of Seychelles, James Alix Michel |
By Ankit Panda
India and Seychelles continue to develop the foundations for an enduring partnership in the Indian Ocean.
India’s relationship with the Seychelles, a small Indian Ocean island state northeast of Madagascar with a population of around 90,000, is expanding. President James Michel of Seychelles was in India for a three day state visit last week that highlighted the growing links between New Delhi and Victoria. Michel last visited New Delhi on state visits in 2010 and 2005.
Michel’s visit to New Delhi comes five months after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Seychelles on a broader tour of the Indian Ocean region–Modi also visited Sri Lanka and Mauritius. Amid growing perceptions in India that China is laying down a strategic framework around the Indian Ocean, New Delhi is making a new push to seal in its partnerships around the region.
One of the notable outcomes of Michel’s visit to New Delhi was the conclusion of an information exchange pact, aimed at curbing tax evasion and promoting cooperation between Indian and Seychellois authorities. The India-Seychelles pact resembles similar agreements between New Delhi and other states known for their attractiveness as off-shore tax havens.
Michel’s time in New Delhi also resulted in the conclusion of important agreements on defense and security. New Delhi gifted an interceptor coastguard boat and a Dornier surveillance aircraft during Michel’s visit. In 2011, the Indian Navy stationed one Dornier in Seychelles, in addition to a warship and a survey vessel, per a government-to-government agreement, for “exclusive economic zone surveillance and anti-piracy patrols.” The Dornier gift to Seychelles comes after Modi oversaw the launch of the MCGS Barracuda, the first India-manufactured warship built for export, in Mauritius back in March.
Read the full story at The Diplomat