Seychelles President’s Upcoming Visit Signals India’s Maritime Priorities In The Indian Ocean

 

Seychelles President Dr Patrick Herminie’s state visit to India from February 5 to 10 comes at a time when New Delhi is sharpening its strategic focus on the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), amid growing geopolitical churn and contestation.

As a key maritime neighbour astride critical sea lanes, Seychelles occupies a central place in India’s evolving Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions), underscoring the visit’s significance well beyond routine diplomatic engagement.

This will be Dr Herminie’s first visit to India after assuming office in October last year. He will also visit Chennai and Mumbai, where he will attend business events.

 

“Seychelles is a key maritime neighbour for India in the Indian Ocean region and holds a special place in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR and our commitment to the Global South,” a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs while announcing Dr Herminie’s visit reads.

President Dr Herminie’s visit coincides with half a century of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles — a milestone that offers a platform to look forward and deepen cooperation across multiple fronts. The timing underlines the importance New Delhi attaches to Seychelles as a strategic maritime partner in the IOR.

Vision MAHASAGAR is New Delhi’s flagship outlook for fostering inclusive security, prosperity and connectivity across the Indian Ocean littoral states. Under this vision, India aims to enhance maritime domain awareness, strengthen security cooperation, support sustainable economic growth, and build resilient regional linkages.

Seychelles plays an outsized role in this framework due to its proximity to vital sea-lanes and vast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — making it a lynchpin in tracking maritime traffic, combating non-traditional security threats like piracy, and ensuring freedom of navigation in the IOR.

 

India and Seychelles have an elaborate architecture of defence and security cooperation that has deepened over the years, with the growing piracy menace and other economic offences in the strategic Indian Ocean region.

Two patrol boats, PS Topaz and PS Constant, were gifted by India to Seychelles in 2005 and 2014 respectively. Indian Coast Guard’s Fast Interceptor Boat C-405 (rechristened ‘PB Hermes’) was gifted to Seychelles in 2016 and its replacement vessel ‘PB Boudeuse’ was gifted and commissioned on February 25, 2025, in the presence of the President and Vice President of Seychelles. India gifted two Dornier maritime surveillance aircraft to Seychelles, first in 2013 and the second in June 2018.

 

India also gifted and installed six coastal surveillance radar systems in Seychelles in 2015, enabling better coastal security for Seychelles. These are now being repaired under Indian assistance. Ten editions of the India-Seychelles biennial joint military exercise ‘LAMITYE’ have been held – the latest one in Victoria in March 2024. India handed over Fast Patrol Vessel SCG PS Zoroaster to the Seychelles Coast Guard in April 2021. Two ceremonial guns and ammunition were also gifted on request of the Government of Seychelles in May 2022.

According to Ruchita Beri, Senior Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation think tank and an expert on Africa, enhancing India-Seychelles maritime cooperation will be on the cards during President Dr Herminie’s visit to India.

 

“Seychelles is strategically located,” Beri told ETV Bharat. “India has been keen on building greater maritime cooperation with Seychelles. Their security concerns with maritime issues like drug-trafficking, piracy, and terrorism converge with those of India.”

According to Samir Bhattacharya, Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation think tank, the Assumption Island issue is expected to crop up during President Dr Herminie’s visit.

In 2015, India and Seychelles signed an agreement to jointly develop a naval facility on Assumption Island, aimed at boosting India’s maritime surveillance in the Mozambique Channel. However, the project has stalled due to political opposition in Seychelles regarding sovereignty concerns. While officially meant for joint anti-piracy operations, the initiative faces local resistance, leaving its future uncertain.

“During that time, India had a deal with the French territory of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean t park its boats and ships,” Bhattacharya said. “In 2024, India opened its airstrip at Agalaega Island in Mauritius. Since Seychelles is in that region, it is important that the conversation on Assumption Island is revived.”