India – Seychelles Relations
India-Seychelles relations have been characterised by close friendship, understanding and cooperation. Diplomatic ties were established with Seychelles after its independence in 1976, but the links date back even earlier. An Indian Mission was established in 1979 in Victoria with the High Commissioner based in Dar-es-Salaam concurrently accredited to Seychelles. The first resident High Commissioner was placed in Victoria in 1987, while Seychelles opened its resident mission in New Delhi in early 2008.
Bilateral agreements
Several bilateral agreements/MOUs have been signed between the two countries, viz., Cultural Exchange Programme (2003-05); an Air Services Agreement (1981); an Agreement on Tourism (1996); a Trade Agreement (2000); a Jt. Business Council (2000); MOUs on Healthcare, Defence and Science and Tech (2003); Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPPA) (June 2010); Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up of an Information Technology Centre in Seychelles (Feb 2010); MoU on the stationing of an Indian Navy’s Dornier aircraft in Seychelles (Feb 2011); an MoU signed for supply of a new Dornier aircraft to Seychelles (Feb 2012); and an MoU for supply of a coastal surveillance radar system in the outer islands signed (Feb 2012). An MoU on police research/training and MoU for cooperation in youth and sports affairs were signed during our President’s visit to Seychelles in the month of April-May 2012. An MoU was signed (Sept 2014) for adoption of a revised Bilateral Air Services Agreement. A delegation of Bureau of Police Research & Training, Ministry of Home Affairs visited Seychelles (Jan 2015) to identify areas of cooperation with Seychelles Police Force in pursuance of the 2012 MoU.
During Prime Minister’s visit (Mar 2015), four agreements viz., i) MoU on Renewable Energy Cooperation ii) MoU for Cooperation in the field of Hydrography iii) Protocol on Sale of Navigational Charts / Electronic Navigational Charts; and iv) Agreement on the Development of Facilities on Assumption Island were signed. The Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) signed (May 2015) an MoU on Exchange of Information and Mutual Assistance in Banking Sector Supervision.
Exchange of Visits
There have been high level exchanges from both sides since Seychelles achieved its independence. From Seychelles – Top leaders from Seychelles visited India regularly. Former President Albert Rene visited India in 1980, 1986 and 1990. President James Michel visited India in 1994, 1996 and 1999 in the capacity as Vice President and in July 2005, June 2010, February 2011 and February 2012 as President. Vice President Danny Faure attended 14th edition of the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit which was held from 6 – 8 February 2014 in New Delhi. Seychelles Minister for Natural Resources and Industry Peter Sinon attended the Asia-Africa AgriBusiness Forum 2014 which was held in New Delhi from 4-6 February 2014. Tourism & Culture Minister Alain St. Ange visited India in August 2014 and January 2015 for tourism promotion.
From India – Past visits from India are: Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi (1976 & 1981); President Shri R. Venkataraman (1989); Vice-President Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma (1991); Vice-President Shri Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2003); External Affairs Minister, Shri S.M. Krishna (July 2010); Defence Minister, Shri A.K. Antony (July 2010); President Smt. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil (2012); and Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi (2015). PM Shri Narendra Modi’s official visit (10-11 Mar) was the first Prime Ministerial level visit from India to Seychelles in 34 years. Former PM Smt. Indira Gandhi had visited Seychelles in 1976 and 1981. It was a highly successful visit with substantive outcomes, which included inter alia signing of four Agreements/MoUs, inauguration of the Coastal Surveillance Radar System (CSRS) Project, announcement of gifting of a second Dornier aircraft to Seychelles and 3-month gratis visa for Seychelles nationals for travel to India. The highlight was a public address by PM at an indoor stadium to an audience of over 4000 including several Seychelles dignitaries and members of the Indian community.
Defence and Security Cooperation
India and Seychelles have an elaborate architecture of defence and security cooperation that had been consolidated over the years with the growing piracy menace and other economic offences in the strategic Indian Ocean region. The bilateral cooperation in this area has manifested across a wide spectrum ranging from maritime security, anti-piracy operations, air surveillance, training and capacity building etc. During the period 2014-15, notable areas of cooperation are summarised below:
• The Seychelles Peoples’ Defence Forces (SPDF) received a donation of two military vehicles from the Indian Government on 3rd June 2014.
• An Indian naval ship INS Trishul, visited Seychelles from 29 April to 7 May 2014 as part of its mission to carry out surveillance of the island nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Six months later, INS Sukanya visited Seychelles from 23 October 2014 to November 2014 on a scheduled maritime patrolling visit, during which it conducted EEZ surveillance in the southern waters of Seychelles archipelago.
• An Indian naval ship, INS Tarasa, was gifted to Seychelles on 7 November 2014 to augment surveillance and patrolling of Seychelles waters that covers an extensive EEZ of over 1.3 million sq. kms. The Chief of Naval Staff of the Indian Navy Admiral RK. Dhowan visited Seychelles on 6-7 November 2014 for the formal handing-over ceremony in the presence of President James Michel. The ship was rechristened ‘PS Constant’ upon induction into the fleet of Seychelles Coast Guard. This is the second Indian naval ship gifted to Seychelles after PS Topaz in 2006.
• Coinciding with the handing over of INS Tarasa and the visit by the Chief of Naval Staff, three Indian naval ships from the Western Fleet, INS Deepak, INS Mumbai and INS Talwar, made port calls in Victoria from 6-9 November 2014.
• INS Teg Visited Seychelles from 26 June to 9 July as part of the bi-annual deployment for undertaking Seychelles EEZ surveillance. The ship visit was planned coinciding with the National Day celebrations of Seychelles on 29 June 2015.
• As part of the bilateral defence and security cooperation, capacity building programmes were organized under ITEC for SPDF in India, ITEC deputationists were deployed with SPDF, including as Military Adviser, Maritime Security Adviser, Medical Adviser and Naval Adviser (Technical). A 5-member Indian Afloat Support Team has been deployed with the Seychelles Coast Guard with effect from June 2015.
Development Assistance
During former President Smt. Pratibha Patil’s visit to Seychelles, India announced US$ 50 million as Line of Credit and US$ 25 million as a grant to the Government of Seychelles. India has been extending generous assistance since early 1980’s to Seychelles under ITEC programme in the civilian, defence and other fields and around 1000 Seychellois have so far benefited from various training courses under the programme. Apart from the Government of India officers on deputation under the ITEC Programme, a retired officer from the Indian Audit & Accounts Service has been directly recruited by the Government of Seychelles as Deputy Auditor General (Apr 2015).
India has also been providing Seychelles with development assistance in the form of financial aid as well as material assistance. Seychelles Hospital is connected with major hospitals in India under Pan-African satellite tele-medicine system. IT Centre for Excellence, set up in Victoria with GOI assistance was inaugurated in April 2011.
Commercial Relations
Though the economic and commercial cooperation at the moment is small, there exists significant scope for enhancing cooperation in this field. Presently, Seychelles’ main items of import from India are rice, miscellaneous food products, cement, linen, cotton, vehicles and associated transport equipments, medicines, instruments and appliances for medical, surgical & dental use. The total imports from India in 2014 was US$ 43.80 million (approx.), while total exports to India in 2014 was only US$ 0.023 million (approx.). Among Indian companies present in Seychelles, Bank of Baroda has been maintaining a successful overseas branch in Victoria since 1978 and is doing a profitable business. A major private investment from an Indian company has been that of M/s. Bharti Airtel Telecom group, which has invested over US$25 million and set up the Airtel mobile telephone and internet services in Seychelles since 1998. TATA has so far supplied (Jan 2014) most of the fleet of buses for Seychelles to ply between its capital city Victoria and other regions of Mahé Island. In pursuance of an MoU signed in September 2014, Air Seychelles launched thrice-weekly direct flights between Mahé and Mumbai on 2 December 2014 (frequency increased to four flights a week in April 2015). The direct air connectivity is expected to boost bilateral trade and investment, flow of tourist traffic and people-to-people contact.
Cultural Relations
Cultural cooperation between India and Seychelles has always been significant. Among the bilateral cultural exchanges, a landmark event was the first and second editions of the Seychelles India Day held in Victoria in 2013 and 2014 respectively. The cultural extravaganza showcased various facets of contemporary India, including music, dance, handicrafts, textiles, painting, cuisine, cinema and much more. Music maestro Ilayaraja was conferred the title of “Cultural Ambassador of Seychelles” by the Government of Seychelles during the 2nd Seychelles-India Day in October 2014.
To mark the friendship and goodwill between the two countries, President Michel gifted two giant Aldabra tortoises to the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata in October 2014 to replace a similar tortoise of Seychelles origin at the Zoo that died in March 2006.
In April 2015, a Gujarati Folk Dance Troupe visited Seychelles to participate in the Victoria International Carnival.
On 21 June 2015, the 1st International Day of Yoga was celebrated in Seychelles in a large scale. Events included a mass yoga session in the morning, inauguration of a weeklong exhibition on Yoga and a seminar-cum-yoga demonstration. To mark the occasion, a plaque was unveiled at the High Commission premises dedicating its Vivekananda Yoga Club to the people Seychelles.
Indian Army’s Motorcycle Riders Display Team “Shwet Ashwa” participated in the Seychelles National Day Celebration (29 June 2015). Indian men and women national volleyball teams also visited Seychelles for an international tournament organized coinciding with the Seychelles National Day.
Indian Community
India has an important link with Seychelles in the form of Indian nationals being the earliest inhabitants of this island, mostly from Tamil Nadu and later from Gujarat, who came as traders, labours, construction workers and more recently as professionals. The number of Indian nationals including PIOs is 10,000 which is significant in a country having total population of 91,000. A Hindu temple, Lord Navasakthi Vinayagar Temple, built in 1992 is a major tourist attraction in Victoria. The Indian community celebrates Holi, Janmashtami, Dusshera and Diwali every year besides organizing various cultural events, talk shows, music concerts etc. The Indian community also spearheads the organising of the annual India-Seychelles Day every October. The Indian community is visible in all walks of life in Seychelles, particularly in trading. Virtually all the shops in this country are owned by the Tamil community. A large portion of the real estate business and the construction industry is controlled by the Gujarati community
The prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) was conferred on the Acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Seychelles, Justice D. Karunakaran on 9 January 2015 at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in Gandhinagar. He is the second recipient of the PBSA from Seychelles after Dr. V. Ramadoss in 2006.
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India – Seychelles Relations
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