India and Seychelles share a cordial bilateral relationship and the engagement has evolved over the historical contacts

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday assured Seychelles’ President Wavel Ramkalawan that Seychelles holds a particular priority under the Neighborhood First Policy and the SAGAR outlook.

“Assured him that Seychelles had a particular priority, both under the Neighbourhood First policy and the SAGAR outlook. Look forward to further strengthening our ties under his leadership,” Jaishankar tweeted.



Jaishankar, who is on a two-day visit to Seychelles, discussed the further strengthening of the bilateral relationship between both sides.

“Thank Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan for receiving me today. Conveyed the greetings of PM @narendramodi and handed over a personal message. Discussed our close security cooperation, strong development partnership, and long-standing people-to-people contacts,” said Jaishankar in a tweet.



The EAM arrived in Seychelles on Friday, for the first high-level interaction with the Indian Ocean archipelago nation since the October elections saw Indian-origin Wavel Ramkalawan take office as the new president.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Ramkalawan on his historic win in the Presidential and Assembly elections and said that he looks forward to strengthening ties with the country.

India and Seychelles share a cordial bilateral relationship and the engagement has evolved over the historical contacts and continuous support to Seychelles for its security, even as our bilateral trade remains modest.

In June 2018, PM Modi had extended $100 million credit to Seychelles for the development of its defense capabilities.

Seychelles and India have worked very closely on defense cooperation as the island nation is India’s ally in the Indian Ocean.

In 2015, PM Modi visited Seychelles and it was his first visit to any country in the Indian Ocean region. It was seen as a trip reaffirming India’s primacy in the Indian Ocean region against the backdrop of growing Chinese aggression.