PM Modi reaffirms old bonds, maritime interests in Seychelles

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to Seychelles was the first by an Indian PM after Indira Gandhi 34 years earlier and coincided with the beginning of a rapid expansion of India’s maritime economic and security interests in a vast stretch of waters from Gujarat to the east coast of Africa.

Modi’s visit to Seychelles that began June 27 comes after a gap of 11 years and is intended the commemorate the island nation’s 50^th national day as guest of honour. He is also slated to address the extraordinary session of the national assembly. Seychelles president Patrick Herminie's state visit to India in February 2026, now followed by the PM's visit, signals a re-energising of bilateral relations that had become a little humdrum in between.

India’s Maritime Vision

The last 10 years have seen a significant step up of Indian naval presence in the region with Seychelles, Mauritius, the Oman port of Duqm and Djibouti being important part of a grid that is important to India-bound cargo and is vulnerable to pirate threats. Indian naval vessels are also regular callers at ports like Mombasa and Dar-e-Salaam. The frequency of naval visits and effective patrolling has been aided by a continuing increase in the Navy’s strength.

Viewed in a strategic and geopolitical context, Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual And Holistic Advancement for Security And Growth Across Regions) spells out a geo-political and maritime policy. “Seychelles is an archipelago of 115 islands astride strategic sea lines of communication near the Mozambique channel and is a key part of Vision MAHASAGAR. With limited surveillance capabilities, Seychelles relies on India as its partner of first choice against piracy, drug trafficking, illegal fishing, and other transnational threats in the Western Indian Ocean,” says a background brief.

In a demonstration of India’s strategic interests and commitment towards Seychelles’ defence Modi will hand over a fast patrol vessel to the Seychelles coast guard and this is part of continuing transfers that include two Dornier aircraft, patrol boats and embedded Indian defence personnel. The 11th edition of Exercise “Lamitye (friendship in Creole)” was held in March 2026 and was elevated to tri-service level. “Seychelles has conveyed intent to join the Colombo Security Conclave as a full member, and participates in multilateral exercises MILAN and PRAGATI,” said the brief. The Lamitye exercise is conducted twice a year.

Infrastructure and Communication

The development cooperation has been the cornerstone of decades of trusted partnership. Lines of Credit since the early 1980s financed buses, ambulances, defence vehicles, an IT centre, a magistrates court, and ICT infrastructure; a 1 MW solar plant and 300 KW rooftop while 28 HICDPs are complete under Phase-I, with Phase-II underway. India supplied 200 tonnes of rice in July 2024 and 3.5 tonnes of medicines in November 2025. Of the Indian diaspora of approximately 15,000, nearly 12% of Seychelles' population of 1,33,000, comprises 6,000 PIOs of Gujarati and Tamil descent and 9,000 Indian nationals. Interestingly, five Indians were among the islands first recorded inhabitants in 1770. PM's diaspora meet-and-greet on 28 June and visit to the Navasakti Vinayagar Temple on 29 June affirm the depth of this bond.

It was in 1770 that a small group of Indians landed in the Seychelles as plantation workers along with seven African slaves and 15 French colonists. During the British colonial period, Seychelles was governed from the Bombay Presidency for some time even as regular shipping links and flow of goods and essential commodities from India began. Modi's address to the Seychelles National Assembly, the first by an Indian Prime Minister , reaffirms India's role as a trusted Indian Ocean partner.

Air Travel, Food Products, Medicines

Absence of a direct shipping line has hampered bilateral trade with Seychelles is rather modest and currently the main items of import from India are rice, miscellaneous food products, cement, linen, cotton, vehicles, transport equipment, medicines, instruments and appliances for medical, surgical and dental use, according to the backgrounder to Modi’s visit.

The footprint of Indian companies in Seychelles is growing though. Bank of Baroda has an overseas branch in Victoria since 1978 and the Bharti Airtel Telecom group has invested over US$ 25 million in mobile telephone and internet services since 1998. TATA has supplied most of the buses for Seychelles to ply in Mahé and Praslin, with Ashok Leyland a new entrant.

Air Seychelles launched thrice-weekly direct flights between Mahé and Mumbai on 2 December 2014. In March 2025, IndiGo Airlines commenced operations with 4 direct flights a week on the Mahe-Mumbai route, that has resulted in a steady increase of Indian tourists travelling to Seychelles.