India-Seychelles High level Virtual Event

The Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held a high-level programme with the President of Seychelles. The Prime Minister presented several gifts to Seychelles during the meet.

Key Highlights of the Event

  • During the meet, the two leaders jointly inaugurated the new Magistrate Court building in Seychelles.
  • The Prime Minister handed over a Fast Patrol Vessel of worth Rs 100 crores and a Solar Power Plant with a capacity of 1 MW.
  • The leaders also inaugurated ten High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP).
  • Seychelles appreciated Indian aid during COVID-19 times. India has so far sent 50,000 doses of COVISHIELD vaccine to Seychelles.

President of Seychelles

The current President of Seychelles is Wavel Ramkalwan. His grandfather was from Bihar, India. However, the president was not born in India. He was born in Mahe, Seychelles.

India-Seychelles

  • In May 2020, India launched Mission SAGAR. Under the mission, COVID-19 related essential medicines were sent to Mauritius, Seychelles, and Maldives.
  • India also sent INS Kesari to the countries in Indian Ocean during COVID-19 times. The ship carried medicines to countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Madagascar, Maldives and Comoros.
  • India and Seychelles has close defence ties.
  • In 1986, India deployed INS Vindhyagiri at Port of Victoria to abort an attempted coup against the then President Rene by the Defence Minister of the country.
  • The Seychelles Government has leased the Assumption Island to the Indian Navy to build overseas base operations in the island. The Island was leased to India for 30 years under an agreement signed in 2015. The agreement allows India to station Indian military personnel on the ground.
  • In 2018, PM Modi announced that India is to extend 100 million USD credit to Seychelles to develop defence capabilities.

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