Indian Council of World Affairs

Abstract: This paper examines the February 2026 state visit of the President of the Republic of Seychelles to India as a significant moment in the continuity of the bilateral relations as per the evolving contemporary realities. Situated within India’s MAHASAGAR vision, it argues that the visit marks a strategic broadening of engagement, integrating sustainability, climate resilience, and digital transformation into a robust maritime partnership, thereby consolidating a multidimensional framework of cooperation. 

The five-day visit of the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Dr. Patrick Herminie, to India from 5 to 10 February 2026 is significant since this year marks the 50^th anniversary of Seychelles’ independence, coinciding with the 50^th anniversary of India–Seychelles diplomatic relations. Seychelles, a 115-island archipelago, is located in the western Indian Ocean, at a distance of approximately 3,600–3,800 kilometres from India. It is a strategic Small Island Developing State (SIDS), pioneering maritime security as well as blue economy initiatives in the region.

This landmark visit marks a strategic significance in bilateral talks, where traditional security concerns like maritime security have been complemented and arguably broadened by the contemporary structural non-traditional priorities such as sustainability and digitisation under India’s MAHASAGAR vision, expanding the partnership’s scope for long-term resilience. This paper, thus, assesses the continuing trajectory of India–Seychelles relations with respect to the evolving realities within the larger Indian Ocean diplomacy and the African maritime sphere.

Continuity in the Evolving India-Seychelles Bilateral Ties

India–Seychelles relations trace their origins to the 1770s under French rule, when Indians were among the island’s earliest recorded inhabitants. During the British period, Seychelles was administered for a time from the Bombay Presidency, strengthening trade and migration linkages and laying the foundations of today’s Indian diaspora within the country’s Creole social landscape. Following Seychelles’ independence in 1976, India promptly established diplomatic relations, symbolically marked by the participation of INS Nilgiri in the independence celebrations, an early signal of the maritime dimension, defining their maritime partnership to this day. In 1979, India opened a diplomatic mission in Victoria, with its High Commissioner in Dar-es-Salaam concurrently accredited to Seychelles. In the years that followed, bilateral ties were strengthened through regular ministerial visits and sustained high-level engagements.[i]

The relationship evolved within a shared tradition of strategic autonomy rooted in the Cold War era. As members of the Non-Aligned Movement, both countries emphasised sovereignty, policy independence, and cooperative engagement. Over time, India’s non-alignment developed into a broader doctrine of strategic multi-alignment, enabling it to engage diverse global partners while preserving its autonomy. Seychelles, despite its micro-island state status, has adopted a comparable balancing strategy, maintaining relations with India, Western powers, and China without entering binding military alliances.[ii] In this context, India’s 2015 Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) initiative, reflecting this approach, found resonance in Seychelles’ Indian Ocean outlook. Today, amid intensifying great-power competition in the region, this shared legacy continues to underpin cooperation in maritime security, development partnerships, and diplomatic engagement.

Since 2015, however, the partnership has progressively adapted to emerging global realities, transitioning from a primarily maritime security-oriented partnership to a more multidimensional strategic engagement encompassing sustainable development, maritime and ocean governance, and economic cooperation. This trajectory was further consolidated in 2023 with the articulation of MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), which builds upon SAGAR’s maritime framework. While MAHASAGAR, from its inception, encompassed India’s long-standing partnerships with Indian Ocean littoral states, its alignment with Seychelles has been reaffirmed during the February 2026 Presidential state visit to India, situating their cooperation and agreements exclusively guided by the MAHASAGAR vision.

Consolidating a Multidimensional Partnership within the MAHASAGAR Vision

The recent visit of the new sworn President of Seychelles, Dr. Patrick Herminie, to India is highlighted by a joint vision of MAHASAGAR, integrating non-traditional security (NTS) concerns, particularly climate change, and technology and digital governance within their longstanding maritime security framework. Seven Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) and agreements were signed across climate resilience and renewable energy, digital transformation, ocean observation and maritime scientific research (including hydrography), health cooperation, food procurement, capacity building and training programmes, and cultural exchange. Collectively, these agreements reflect an evolution from sector-specific cooperation toward a more integrated and multidimensional partnership.[iii]

As part of its expanding development partnership, India announced a Special Economic Package of $175 million, including $125 million in a rupee-denominated Line of Credit (LoC) and $50 million in grant assistance, aimed at multi-sectoral projects in public housing, infrastructure, mobility, capacity building, maritime security, and other priority sectors.[iv] Notably, this marks India’s third rupee-denominated official development assistance, following the October 2024 LoC extended to Mauritius[v] as well as the Maldives in July 2025.[vi] The move reflects more than financial generosity, signalling a calibrated evolution in India’s economic diplomacy with its Global South neighbours.[vii] By denominating credit in Indian rupees, New Delhi advances the gradual internationalisation of the rupee while embedding economic sovereignty within its South-South cooperation model. At the same time, the arrangement carries tangible advantages for SIDS, which often face acute vulnerability to foreign exchange volatility via US dollar-denominated debt, thus aligning India’s developmental assistance with the structural realities of island economies.

Moreover, the two leaders announced a comprehensive Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth, and Security through Enhanced Linkages (SESEL), operationalising the MAHASAGAR vision at the bilateral level. The framework emphasises national development priorities of both countries towards strengthening cooperation in climate resilience and sustainable development, economic growth, and security.[viii] It represents a significant shift from traditional maritime security to a broad security framework, including the contemporary NTS dimension which transcends borders, such as climate change, health and food security, the blue economy, and economic resilience.

Two thematic pillars stand out in this evolving partnership: climate adaptation and digital ecosystem development. India’s support through renewable energy initiatives under the International Solar Alliance has already delivered community-level benefits in Seychelles. Building on this, India has committed to extending technical expertise in energy conservation and green mobility, alongside adjacent power grid management and infrastructural development, and the implementation of multi-hazard early warning systems to mitigate climate risks. Seychelles’ decision to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, headquartered in New Delhi, further institutionalises climate resilience within bilateral cooperation.[ix] In the digital domain, both countries agreed to collaborate on developing digital public infrastructure, including digital governance platforms and digital payments architecture. [x] This initiative aims to enhance financial inclusion, service delivery, and digitised governance in Seychelles while linking technological cooperation with economic development objectives. Sustainable development and digital transformation, thus, emerge not as standalone upgrades but as contemporary enablers of governance reform and economic modernisation. Yet continuity remains evident: maritime crime, illegal fishing, and transnational threats continue to feature prominently. Thus, defence and maritime cooperation remain the foundational pillars.

India has sustained its long-standing support to the Seychelles through customised military training, the provision of naval and air assets, transport platforms, and capacity-building for the Seychelles Defence Forces. On 10 February 2026, senior officials from both sides reaffirmed their shared commitment to peace, stability, and security in the Indian Ocean while reviewing avenues for deepening defence cooperation. They also welcomed the forthcoming 12th edition of the biennial joint military exercise LAMITYE, conducted since 2001, underscoring institutional continuity in operational engagement.[xi]

Future cooperation was discussed in areas, such as hydrography, regular ship and aircraft visits, defence exchanges, and enhanced maritime security coordination, with an emphasis on long-term capability modernisation. Notably, hydrographic collaboration has been upgraded through an MoU between the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority. This strengthens maritime domain awareness through joint surveys, surveillance, information sharing, and technical training. Plans to establish a dedicated Seychelles Hydrographic Unit, building on institutionalised cooperation since 2015, will further integrate security with sustainable ocean governance.[xii]

Taken together, the visit reflects neither a departure from traditional security cooperation nor a mere continuation of past patterns. Rather, it represents a strategic layering, where maritime security, climate resilience, digital governance, and economic diplomacy are embedded within a wider comprehensive security architecture and intersect to form a multidimensional, co-developmental partnership. For an island state acutely vulnerable to climate shocks and economic volatility, such an integrated framework provides not only security assurances but also technological and developmental resilience.

Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth, and Security through Enhanced Linkages (SESEL) within the MAHASAGAR Vision

Strategic Layering of Maritime Security, Climate Resilience, and Digital & Development Diplomacy as Enablers of the India-Seychelles Multidimensional, Co-developmental Partnership.

Seychelles’ Global Strategic Significance in the Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR)

Seychelles’ significance derives from the intersection of geography, maritime governance leadership, and strategic diplomacy within an increasingly contested Indian Ocean. This small island state occupies a position of asymmetrical strategic importance in the Western Indian Ocean Region (WIOR). Located proximate to major Sea Lines of Communication, the archipelago sits along maritime corridors linking eastern Africa, West Asia, South Asia, and the wider Indo-Pacific. These routes facilitate significant volumes of global trade and energy flows, making maritime stability in the surrounding waters central to geo-economic security. Moreover, its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), of over 1.3 million square kilometres, makes it an essential partner for any power seeking to maintain stability in the region.[xiii] As a result, partnerships with Seychelles in areas such as maritime domain awareness, logistical coordination, and coastal surveillance contribute to safeguarding shipping lanes, combating piracy and transnational maritime crimes, and preserving a rules-based maritime order in the WIOR.[xiv]

Seychelles’ geostrategic value is not a recent development. During the Cold War, its location attracted attention from competing powers seeking influence in the Indian Ocean. In the contemporary era of renewed great-power contestation, its relevance has only intensified. However, unlike many strategically located island states, the Seychelles has demonstrated considerable diplomatic agency, despite its micro size.[xv] Rather than being a passive site of competition, it has leveraged its maritime geography to shape regional security governance and ocean sustainability discourse. This agency is reflected in its leadership roles in multilateral maritime initiatives.

Seychelles was the first regional state to chair the Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities (previously named the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia) in 2009, and it has since assumed the chairmanship multiple times, including in February 2025. [xvi] In the same month, Seychelles became the first country to achieve full compliance with the Fisheries Transparency Initiative Standard,[xvii] reinforcing its credentials in transparent and sustainable ocean governance. Through such issue-specific leadership, Seychelles has cultivated international goodwill and technical credibility disproportionate to its size. Building on this foundation, Seychelles has emerged as a pioneer of the global ‘Blue Economy’ framework. In 2015, it concluded a landmark debt-for-nature swap for ocean conservation, restructuring $21.6 million of its debt in agreement with the Paris Club. Subsequently, in 2018, it launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond, raising $15 million to support sustainable marine resource management.[xviii] Seychelles has also been an active member of the Indian Ocean Rim Association since 2011, cutting across engagements in trade, the blue economy, renewable energy, and tourism.[xix] These initiatives have positioned Victoria not merely as a beneficiary of maritime governance frameworks but as a norm-setting agency in ocean sustainability.

Seychelles in the Wider Africa Maritime Sphere

From an African standpoint, Seychelles, though the smallest among the ten African island states of the WIOR,[xx] occupies a position of disproportionate influence. As a high-income country and Africa’s highest-ranking state on global human development indicators, it frequently leverages its governance capacity to provide normative and diplomatic leadership within continental platforms.[xxi] On the sidelines of the 48th Ordinary Session of the African Union Executive Council from 11 to 12 February 2026, Seychelles reinforced this role by engaging in bilateral meetings with Libya, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Comoros and amplifying the collective voice of the SIDS within the African Union (AU) framework. These engagements underscored shared regional priorities under the Indian Ocean Commission, particularly maritime security, sustainable development, and institutional coordination within the AU and the African Continental Free Trade Area.[xxii] Moreover, Seychelles’ sustained advocacy for ocean governance and sustainable maritime development aligns closely with the AU’s Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) 2050, which envisions Africa’s oceans and seas as avenues of wealth creation through a secure and sustainable blue economy, given that 38 out of 53 African states are either islands or littoral states.[xxiii] Notably, Victoria played an agenda-setting role in elevating the “blue economy” within continental discourse, contributing to its recognition as a core pillar of AIMS 2050.[xxiv] In this regard, Seychelles’ national experience in linking marine conservation, economic resilience, and maritime security has informed and reinforced broader African maritime strategy. In doing so, the island country increasingly serves as a governance template for other African states, especially Small Island Developing States (SIDS), navigating the intersection of security, sustainability, and economic resilience.

For India, Seychelles’ strategic value lies at the intersection of geography and governance. Its central location in the WIOR, combined with its demonstrated leadership in maritime security, ocean sustainability, and institutional engagement, makes it a natural partner in advancing India’s MAHASAGAR vision, one that seeks to integrate holistic maritime security with sustainable growth across regions.[xxv] Seychelles’ accession as the sixth full member of the Colombo Security Conclave in November 2025[xxvi] further embeds it within a cooperative regional security architecture in which India plays a pivotal role. This institutional alignment was reinforced during President Herminie’s recent state visit to India, where both sides reiterated shared commitments to maritime stability, climate resilience, and sustainable development. The trajectory reflects not a departure from security cooperation, but its expansion into a broader human-security and sustainability framework.

India–Seychelles relations, situated within the wider Africa maritime and development strategy, also resonate strongly with India’s ten guiding Kampala Principles for engagement with Africa (2018). In this sense, they transcend conventional bilateralism, increasingly representing a development-centric model of security cooperation within Africa and the wider Global South, combining strategic autonomy, blue economy governance, digital and climate partnerships, and innovative financial mechanisms such as local currency financing. Thus, the partnership illustrates how India’s maritime strategy in Africa is evolving towards institutional partnership, aligning security, development, and financial sovereignty within a shared South-South vision of MAHASAGAR.

Conclusion

The state visit of Seychelles’ President Dr. Patrick Herminie to India for a five-day diplomatic engagement signified the consolidation of a multidimensional partnership anchored in India’s MAHASAGAR vision. The visit underscored how India–Seychelles relations are evolving through strategic layering, integrating non-traditional priorities such as climate resilience, blue economy governance, and digital transformation into an already robust maritime security framework.

Simultaneously, Seychelles’ pioneering role in advancing the blue economy within the Indian Ocean, across Africa, and in the wider Global South offers a compelling governance template at the intersection of maritime security, sustainability, and economic resilience. For India, partnership with Seychelles demonstrates how development-centric security cooperation can strengthen African states, particularly SIDS, by aligning strategic autonomy with institutional capacity, financial innovation, and ocean-based growth.

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*Nandini Khandelwal, Research Analyst, Indian Council of World Affairs, New Delhi
Disclaimer: Views expressed are personal. 

Endnotes

[i] “High Commission of India.” Mea.gov.in, https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/CountryNews/11879_Bilateral_Briefs_for_Website.pdf.

[ii] Sen, Gaurav. “Looking inside Seychelles Beneficial Multi Alignment Strategy amidst India China Competition.” Journal of Strategic Security 18, no. 3 (2025): 154–68. https://doi.org/10.2307/48838021.

[iii] Asianet Newsable. “India-Seychelles Relations: Joint Vision Adopted, Key Pacts Signed,” February 9, 2026. https://newsable.asianetnews.com/world/indiaseychelles-relations-joint-vision-adopted-key-pacts-signed-articleshow-04axm8l?utm_source=chatgpt.com.

[iv] Mea.gov.in. “India – Seychelles Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security through Enhanced Linkages (SESEL),” February 9, 2026. https://www.mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl%2F40719%2FIndia++Seychelles+Joint+Vision+for+Sustainability+Economic+Growth+and+Security+through+Enhanced+Linkages+SESEL.

[v] Mea.gov.in. “India Extends Its First-Ever Rupee Denominated Line of Credit under IDEAS,” October 17, 2024. https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/38432/India_extends_its_firstever_Rupee_denominated_Line_of_Credit_under_IDEAS.

[vi] Mea.gov.in. “Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on State Visit of President of Seychelles to India,” February 10, 2026. https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/40725/Transcript+of+Special+Briefing+by+MEA+on+State+visit+of+President+of+Seychelles+to+India+February+09+2026.

[vii] The Times of India. “Regional Trade Push: RBI Allows Rupee Credit to Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka; Extends Forex Repatriation Window.” The Times Of India, October 13, 2025. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/regional-trade-push-rbi-allows-rupee-credit-to-bhutan-nepal-and-sri-lanka-extends-forex-repatriation-window/articleshow/124532224.cms

[ix] Op.cit.4.

[x] Op.cit.6

[xi] Pib.gov.in. “Defence Secretary Calls on Seychelles’ Minister for Foreign Affairs & Diaspora and Chief of Defence Forces in New Delhi,” February 10, 2026. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2225915®=1&lang=1. 

[xii] Bhuyan, Aroonim. “Ocean Data, Shared Security: Why the India–Seychelles MoU on Hydrography Matters.” ETV Bharat News, February 9, 2026. https://www.etvbharat.com/en/international/why-the-india-seychelles-mou-on-hydrography-matters-enn26020906490.

[xiii] Op.cit.2.

[xiv] McDougall, Derek. “Seychelles: Assessing Its International Agency.” Commonwealth & Comparative Politics 63, no. 2 (April 3, 2025): 148–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2025.2518640.

[xv] Bueger, Christian, and Anders Wivel. “How Do Small Island States Maximize Influence? Creole Diplomacy and the Smart State Foreign Policy of the Seychelles.” Journal of the Indian Ocean Region 14, no. 2 (May 4, 2018): 170–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/19480881.2018.1471122.

[xvi] Morel, Aline. “Seychelles Assumes Chairpersonship of the Contact Group on Illicit Maritime Activities (CGIMA) - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora - Republic of Seychelles, February 18, 2025. https://mfa.gov.sc/news/seychelles-assumes-chairpersonship-of-the-contact-group-on-illicit-maritime-activities-cgima/.

[xvii] Kessler, Rebecca. “Seychelles Becomes First Country to Comply with Fisheries Transparency Standard.” Mongabay Environmental News, April 14, 2025. https://news.mongabay.com/2025/04/seychelles-becomes-first-country-to-comply-with-fisheries-transparency-standard/.

[xviii] Senaratne, Malshini . “Charting Seychelles’ Blue Economy.” Indian Council of World Affairs, February 2023. /pdfs/IndiaIslandStatesIndianOcean.pdf.

[xix] mea.gov.in. “Indian Ocean Rim Association and India’s Role,” https://www.mea.gov.in/Portal/ForeignRelation/IORA_new.pdf.

[xx] Preventionweb.net. “Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association,” July 27, 2020. https://www.preventionweb.net/organization/western-indian-ocean-marine-science-association.

[xxi] “Seychelles Reaffirms Commitment to Continental Cooperation - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora.” Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Diaspora - Republic of Seychelles, February 12, 2026. https://mfa.gov.sc/news/seychelles-reaffirms-commitment-to-continental-cooperation/.

[xxii] Africa.com. “Seychelles Bolsters Regional and Bilateral Ties at the African Union Executive Council,” February 14, 2026. https://africa.com/seychelles-bolsters-regional-and-bilateral-ties-at-the-african-union-executive-council/.

[xxiii] Singh, Abhay Kumar. “2050 Africa Integrated Maritime Strategy and India’s SAGAR Vision: Charting Convergences and Cooperative Synergy.” In India and Africa: Deepening the Security Engagement, edited by Ruchita Beri and Rajeesh Kumar, 48–62. Pentagon Press, 2024. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/382113702_4_2050_Africa_Integrated_Maritime_Strategy_and_India. 

[xxiv] Bonnelame, Betymie. “Seychelles Recognised at Blue Economy Forum in Kenya with Award for Maritime Sector.” Seychelles News Agency, November 29, 2018. https://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/10127/Seychelles+recognised+at+Blue+Economy+forum+in+Kenya+with+award+for+maritime+sector.  

[xxv] Chaudhury, Dipanjan. “Seychelles Backs Open Indo-Pacific, Aligns with India’s Mahasagar Vision.” The Economic Times, February 11, 2026. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/seychelles-backs-open-indo-pacific-aligns-with-indias-mahasagar-vision/articleshow/128210974.cms?from=mdr.

[xxvi] mea.gov.in. “7th NSA-Level Meeting of the Colombo Security Conclave (November 20, 2025),” November 20, 2025. https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/40314/7th_NSALevel_Meeting_of_the_Colombo_Security_Conclave_November_20_2025.