Prime Minister in Seychelles: A Golden Jubilee Visit and the Renewal of India’s Indian Ocean Partnership
Dr. Manish Karmwar
Research Professor & Faculty, Department of African Studies, University of Delhi
Anushka Srivastava
Doctoral Candidate, Department of African Studies, University of Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-day State visit to Seychelles, arriving in Victoria on June 27, 2026, at the invitation of President Dr. Patrick Herminie. He is the Guest of Honour in the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the National Day in Seychelles on 29 June. It is also during the 50th anniversary year of the relations between India and Seychelles making the reaffirmation of one of the most reliable alliances of India in the western Indian Ocean.
The relationship over the decades shifted to diplomatic cordiality to practical cooperation. This strategic energy was rejuvenated following the March 2015 visit of Prime Minister Modi to Seychelles which yielded pacts on renewable energy, hydrography, navigational maps and collaboration regarding maritime amenities. In 2018, a visit by President Danny Faure added white shipping, cyber security, small development projects, foreign-service training, cultural exchange and the Panaji–Victoria twinning arrangement to the agenda. The post-pandemic era introduced an additional functional cooperation level.
Tourism forms the most important and vibrant pillar of India–Seychelles relations, positioning Seychelles as a strategic maritime and cultural gateway for deepening India’s engagement with Africa. Seychelles also lies at a critical position in the western Indian Ocean. The transfer of the Made-in-India Fast Patrol Vessel PS Lespwar in the present visit is not, in any way, an isolated act; it is a continuum in a series of maritime security.
India has cast itself as a cooperative, consultative and development oriented power in the Indian Ocean under SAGAR-Security and Growth in All in the Region and under the broader MAHASAGAR. Seychelles can easily be a part of this vision India’s cooperation with Seychelles enhances maritime domain awareness, and highlights the fact that security and development can go hand in hand.
Pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, fisheries, sustainable tourism, financial services, information technology and the Blue Economy are all the future of India- Seychelles Relations. ITEC and ICCR scholarships have allowed Seychellois officials and students to study and train in India. The India-Seychelles Centre of Excellence in ICT is offered by the University of Seychelles. Future academic collaborations between the University of Seychelles, Department of African Studies at the University of Delhi, Jawaharlal Nehru University and the Indian research institutions can concentrate on climate change issues, maritime governance, and African Studies, maritime biodiversity and the Blue Economy.
The visit of Prime Minister Modi to Seychelles on its Golden Jubilee National Day commemorates 50 years of diplomatic travel, facilitates a strategic maritime alliance, enhances development cooperation, and enhances the participation of India in the Small Island Developing States. Most importantly, it demonstrates that when geography is influenced by the power of trust, capacity building and mutual development the Indian Ocean becomes meaningful. In the case of India and Seychelles, it is time to write the next chapter using security at sea, sustainability on land, educational and institutional connect and solidarity within the Global South.
