India-Seychelles Ties Deepen: PM Modi Highlights $175 Million Package, Strategic Expansion

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reaffirmed India's commitment to further strengthening its long-standing development partnership with Seychelles while expanding bilateral cooperation across strategic, economic and high-technology sectors.

Addressing a joint press meet with Seychelles President Wavel Ramkalawan Herminie, PM Modi highlighted the announcement of India's Special Economic Package (SEP) worth $175 million, which was announced during President Herminie's visit to India earlier this year.

He described development partnership as the "defining feature" of India-Seychelles bilateral relations and reiterated that India's approach remains focused on the priorities and aspirations of its partner countries.

“During the President's visit to India, we announced a special economic package of $175 million. Under this initiative, work is being carried out in sectors such as social housing, transport, skill development, food security, education, and defense," he added.

How will PM Modi’s Professional and Technical Centre boost youth skills and employability in Seychelles?

Regarding the virtual groundbreaking for a new Professional and Technical Centre in Seychelles, Prime Minister Modi expressed his belief that this centre will significantly elevate the employability, skills, and self-confidence of the youth of the East African island nation.

"Supporting human resource development in Seychelles has been a special priority for India. I am pleased that we are contributing to the training of Seychelles' civil servants,” PM Modi said.

“Today, the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for the Professional and Technical Center is also taking place. We believe that this center will elevate the skills, employability, and self-confidence of the youth of Seychelles to new heights in the future," he affirmed.

Highlighting the enduring cooperation between the two countries in the health sector, PM Modi said the partnership had stood "the test of time," recalling India's support through vaccine supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic.

To further this cooperation, he also announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the 'Jan Aushadhi' initiative, which aims to make quality and affordable medicines accessible to the people of Seychelles.

"We will continue our efforts to further strengthen medical care in Seychelles through capacity building and training," he stated.

Strategic cooperation remains a cornerstone of the two nations' bilateral relationship, with Prime Minister Modi affirming that the defence and security of India and Seychelles are "inextricably linked."

He affirmed that the bilateral agenda is also expanding to various sectors, including energy and climate action, Blue Economy, and space.

(With inputs from ANI)