He also congratulated the people of Seychelles for the conduct of free and fair elections

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

“Felicitations to H.E. @wavelramkalawan on his historic win in the Presidential and Assembly elections in Seychelles. We look forward to a strengthening of the close and traditional relationship between India and Seychelles under his leadership,” PM Modi said in a tweet.


It is the first time since 1977 that the opposition has taken power in Seychelles with incumbent President Danny Faure getting 43 percent votes to 54 percent of Wavel Ramkalawn.

“In this election, there are no losers, there are no winners- our country was given the opportunity as the ultimate winner,” Ramkalawan said after winning the presidential elections in his seventh attempt.

PM Modi also congratulated the people of Seychelles for the conduct of free, fair, and peaceful elections.

“Congratulations to the people of Seychelles for the conduct of free, fair, and peaceful elections. This is a victory for democracy, a common value that binds India and Seychelles,” the Prime Minister said in another tweet.

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.