Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on State visit of President of Seychelles to India (February 09, 2026)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for coming for this special briefing on the ongoing State visit of the President of Seychelles. This special briefing will be done by Foreign Secretary, Shri Vikram Misri and to assist him on stage we also have our High Commissioner to Seychelles Shri Rohit Rathish, and also Joint Secretary (Indian Ocean Region) Shri Prasanna Shrivastava.

With that, first I invite Foreign Secretary to give his opening remarks on this ongoing visit of the President of Seychelles.

Sir, over to you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:Thank you, Randhir. Good evening, thank you all for being here for this briefing. As you know, the President of Seychelles, His Excellency Dr. Patrick Herminie is on a six-day State visit to India from the 5th to the 10th of February 2026. President Herminie is accompanied by the First Lady, Veronique Herminie and a large delegation that comprises seven top Cabinet Ministers of the Seychelles Government, several senior Officials including military Officials as well as officials of the Government. Some prominent businesspersons are also part of the President's delegation.

This is President Herminie's first visit to India after assuming the presidency following his victory in the national elections in October 2025. Some of you might recall that last year in October after President Herminie's victory at the elections, Honorable Vice President of India Shri C.P. Radhakrishnan had visited Seychelles for the swearing-in ceremony of President Herminie, and it was during that visit that he had also handed over to President Herminie a letter of invitation from the Prime Minister inviting President Herminie to pay a State Visit to India.

This particular visit in Delhi today also assumes salience in view of the fact that this year the people of Seychelles are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their independence, and it also happens to be the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles. So therefore, this visit is indeed very, very special.

I just want to say a few words about how we see the relationship with this very important country in the Indian Ocean Region, and in the overall framework of India's policy in this region. Seychelles, as you can imagine, is an important part of the MAHASAGAR vision enunciated by the Prime Minister-Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions. Ours is a long-standing relationship; it's underpinned by close people-to-people relations, growing trade and economic contacts and a substantive developmental partnership. And this is a partnership that has evolved in diverse areas. It covers capacity building, maritime security, blue economy initiatives, and healthcare.

We have contributed to the development of Seychelles through a mix of small and large development projects and an extensive suite of capacity building and training initiatives based on the requirements and priorities that have been indicated by the Government of Seychelles.

As two neighbors in a very important maritime neighborhood, we also work together to address common challenges in this region related to piracy, maritime terrorism, drug trafficking, IUU fishing, and also human trafficking, weapons trafficking, etc. So, the current visit essentially aims to build on a strong foundation that has already been established and chart out new frontiers for our engagement going forward.

As for this visit, President Herminie arrived in Chennai on the 5th of February. The Governor of Tamil Nadu called on him. President Herminie took part in a business event in the city, also visited the National Center for Sustainable Coastal Management and Apollo Hospitals. He then traveled to Mumbai on the 7th of February. The Honorable Chief Minister of Maharashtra called on him, and the President also participated in a business event in the city.

Yesterday, President Herminie arrived in New Delhi. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport. This morning, the External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar called on President Herminie, and the President also visited Rajghat to pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi.

This morning, President Herminie and Prime Minister held extensive discussions reviewing the full gamut of bilateral relations between the two countries. There was special emphasis on issues related to maritime safety, security, defense cooperation, development cooperation, capacity building, which as I said earlier are key dimensions of our partnership.

The Prime Minister hosted a special banquet lunch in honor of the visiting President. Short while ago, Honorable Vice President called on President Herminie and in a short while from now, the President will have a meeting with Honorable Rashtrapatiji who will also host a State banquet in honor of the visiting dignitary. Tomorrow, President Herminie and his delegation will visit the Taj Mahal in Agra and then leave for Seychelles later in the evening.

As to the discussions during the visit and the outcomes, you would have followed the Press Statements made by the two leaders. They announced the India-Seychelles Joint Vision for Sustainability, Economic Growth and Security through Enhanced Linkages, outlining future axes for cooperation between the two countries.

The document has detailed sections on political exchanges, development cooperation, trade and economic cooperation, digital and financial exchanges, cooperation in the fields of energy, health, defense and maritime security, capacity building and training, and people-to-people linkages. And also cooperation in various regional and multilateral forums that both countries are members of.

The vision document also underscores a mutual intent to strengthen engagement and build on existing areas of collaboration, and we are confident that it will help chart the path for the next phase of the India-Seychelles relationship.

In terms of the main outcomes, the documents that have been exchanged and the announcements that have been made, are already on the website of the Ministry of External Affairs. The highlight of course is our decision to offer a special economic package of $175 million to Seychelles. This is a blended package comprising a US dollar 125 million Rupee-denominated line of credit, and a grant component of 50 million US dollars. The intention is to support development projects across priority sectors identified by Seychelles. The first project in fact under this package which is to provide 1,000 metric tons of grains to strengthen food security of Seychelles has in fact already been approved, and its execution is underway.

Besides the special economic package, something that I wanted to underline was that a Seychelles hydrographic unit will be established in Seychelles with Indian assistance. It will impart further momentum to our ongoing hydrographic cooperation, which had been institutionalized through an MoU on hydrographic cooperation that had been signed during the visit of the Prime Minister to Seychelles in 2015.

Health came up as a priority sector during the discussions today, and a number of issues related to that were discussed. As part of our ongoing cooperation in this sector, we will gift 10 ambulances to Seychelles to strengthen their public healthcare and emergency medicine services, and in so far as other issues are concerned, both sides will remain in close touch to develop these ideas.

There are a number of other Memoranda of Understanding that were signed: the National Centre for Good Governance of India and the Public Service Bureau of Seychelles have established cooperation for training 250 Seychellois civil servants in India.

In the digital field, the two countries are institutionalizing cooperation by signing an MoU on digital transformation. On the scientific front, two MoUs have been signed to deepen collaboration: one of them brings together INCOIS (Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services) and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority; while the other involves the Indian Meteorological Department and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority, underscoring our shared commitment to advancing exchange of scientific research and knowledge.

These collaborations will focus on areas that are very significant, very important for the two countries including ocean observation, climate adaptation, blue economy and the overall objective of the Seychelles insofar as sustainable development and resilience is concerned.

In addition to these, the cultural exchange program between the two countries has been renewed. Seychelles has also recognized Indian Pharmacopoeia through another MoU, and this will help provide affordable and quality medicines to the people of Seychelles.

Also, National Cooperative Exports Limited and the Seychelles Trading Company have signed a commercial agreement to facilitate the export of essential food items, thereby further strengthening both trade as well as food security in Seychelles.

Overall, therefore, I would say that the engagements and outcomes during this ongoing visit will enable the bilateral relationship to scale new heights in the coming years. President Herminie expressed his gratitude for the very warm welcome that he and his delegation had received here, and he also extended an invitation to the Prime Minister to visit Seychelles during the course of the year.

Let me stop there. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them. Thank you.

Huma Siddiqui, StratNews Global: Good evening, sir. My name is Huma Siddiqui, and I'm with StratNews Global. I have two questions. You talked about the defense and maritime cooperation. Would there be anything specific that you would like to share with us? And how many business people were there in the delegation, and which sectors were they covering?

Rishabh, Times Now:Foreign Secretary, good evening. Rishabh from Times Now. Sir, Prime Minister spoke about how the civil servants from Seychelles will be trained in India. So, what would be the strength like?

Also, at the end of his address, the Seychelles President said that we would like the Prime Minister to come to Seychelles for the 50th Independence Day. So, has there been a formal invitation from Seychelles to India as well?

Siddhant, WION: Hi sir, Siddhant from WION. Sir, my question is the rupee-denominated support that we are giving, how much it will be helpful in terms of trading or investment in the national currencies because that was a big focus of the two leaders, that the trading should happen in national currency.

Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Sir, thank you, Foreign Secretary. Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. Building on Siddhant's question actually, can you give us a sense of what is the current trade that is handled with in local currencies because that was something that was mentioned?

And secondly, the Memorandum of Understanding on ocean monitoring that was signed, can you give us a sense of what that entails and when is this going to sort of be set up? Is there any sort of idea of when this MoU is going to be implemented? Thank you, sir.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:On defense and maritime cooperation, as you're aware, this is a substantial area of cooperation between the two countries. In the past, India has provided a wide variety of defense and maritime security platforms to Seychelles in the form of maritime surveillance aircraft as well as coastal patrol vessels, contributing to the capability of Seychelles to monitor its very large EEZ.

There have been exchanges in the field of capacity building for Seychelles military Officials. And, as I said, there is ongoing cooperation in the area of hydrography, enabling Seychelles to have more intimate knowledge of its EEZ. And of course we do have a very close relationship with Seychelles defense forces. There's very close contact at various levels between our military personnel in different areas with their Seychelles counterparts as well.

So, the idea during the discussions today was to reinforce this cooperation. Seychelles has requested for assistance in the repair and maintenance and upkeep of several of these platforms. Some of these are underway already. In fact, I think, during the course of the visit itself, we have announced that we will be assisting Seychelles for the refit of PS Zoroaster, which is in the service of the Seychelles Coast Guard. This ship had been given to Seychelles in 2021, and it is now due for its second refit, and this will be done at GRSE Kolkata on a gratis basis by India.

And as I said, in as part of the special economic package also that we have announced today, if there are any aspects that Seychelles wishes to prioritize that relate to the defense field, we will take a look at those as well.

In so far as the business delegation accompanying the President is concerned, I think there were six or eight business persons accompanying the President in his delegation and they were mostly from sectors related to health, real estate, construction, retail trade, fintech, and also representatives of the Seychelles Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Rishabh, your question related to civil servants. I think we have currently indicated that as part of the MoU that has been signed between the National Center for Good Governance and its Seychelles counterpart, to train 250 Seychelles civil servants through dedicated training programs, sharing of educational resources, and the deputation of experts from India.

And on the invitation extended by the President for the 50th Independence Day, as you would have seen also, the Prime Minister obviously thanked the President for the invitation and the details in this are going to be discussed between the two sides and will be firmed up through diplomatic channels as we move forward.

Siddhant, your question related to rupee-denominated LOC, which is for 125 million dollars. This is only in so far as the line of credit is concerned and the idea is to see what kinds of projects the Government of Seychelles identifies as priorities and they will be funded through rupee-denominated LOCs. This is in the same vein that we have pursued with, for instance, I think Mauritius was the first country to which we extended rupee-denominated LOC.

Since then, we have also extended rupee-denominated LOCs to other neighbors including, if I recall correctly, to Sri Lanka, especially in the wake of the recent cyclone there, and to Bhutan for development projects. So, this is that kind of a line of credit.

I think in so far as trading in local currencies is concerned, and this addresses Keshav's question as well, I don't think trading in local currencies is currently-I think the trade is not significant enough at this point for trade in local currencies to really have systemic effect. So, these are two different issues. At an appropriate time perhaps the authorities on the two sides will get into a discussion on settling trade in local currencies, but that is a completely different matter, not related to this issue of this line of credit having been extended in Indian rupees.

And in so far as the MOU on ocean monitoring is concerned, this is an MOU between INCOIS as I was mentioning earlier, the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority. It essentially covers technical cooperation on ocean observation, ocean services, capacity building, data sharing, and the conduct of maritime scientific research. So, essentially strengthen Seychelles' capabilities to understand better and have a better handle on the vast waters around it.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson:We have more questions. Neeraj.

Neeraj Dubey, Prabhasakshi:Sir namaskar, main Neeraj Dubey Prabhasakshi se. Sir, 175 million ki jo unko vittiya sahayata di gayi hai, uska mukhya roop se upyog wahan par kin pariyojnaon mein kiya jaana hai? Aur jo samudri suraksha ko lekar MOU hua hai, usme kya koi joint patrolling ya intelligence sharing jaisi bhi baatein shamil hain?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Hello sir, I am Neeraj Dubey from Prabhasakshi. Sir, the financial assistance of 175 million that has been provided-what are the main projects in which it will primarily be utilized? And regarding the MoU signed on maritime security, does it include aspects such as joint patrolling or intelligence sharing?

Abhishek Jha, Independent Journalist: Sir, Abhishek Jha, independent journalist. Sir, my question is regarding this Assumption Island. India was involved in the development of an airstrip there and apparently it was halted after some domestic protest. What is the latest update on that, and what is the purpose of this airstrip that India is developing?

Uma Shankar Singh, Independent Journalist:Uma Shankar Singh, independent journalist. Kyunki direct shipping line ki kami hai Seychelles ke liye isliye trans-shipment jo hai woh karna hota hai aur isse wahan par vastuon ki keemat jo hai woh zyada mehngi hoti hai. To kya yeh charcha ka vishay raha Rashtrapati ki taraf se aur kya humari taraf se koi direct shipping line, regular shipping line ki koi zaroorat mehsoos ki ja rahi hai?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi]Uma Shankar Singh, an independent journalist. Since there is a lack of a direct shipping line to Seychelles, trans-shipment has to be done, which makes the cost of goods there more expensive. So, was this a topic of discussion from the Seychelles President's side, and do we feel the need to establish a direct or regular shipping line from our side?

Jessica Taneja, DD India: Hi sir, this is Jessica Taneja for DD India. I know we're talking about the visit of the Seychelles President today, but recently India and the US concluded trade negotiations. Now, there has been a lot of discussion around India's purchase of Russian oil. Can the MEA clarify India's position regarding purchase of Russian oil?

Manas, PTI: Good evening, Foreign Secretary, this is Manas, I work for PTI. Just on defense cooperation, would you just still elaborate on what we're looking at in the maritime domain besides hydrographic survey and cooperation relating to Navy-to-Navy framework? And also on the Assumption Island, there was a plan to develop a naval base at the Assumption Island by India and Seychelles. Is that plan still on? Thank you.

Ayanangsha Maitra: Excellency, this is Ayanangsha Maitra. Is there any discussion in the line of equipment supply for the Bollywood producers from India, logistics, and IT? Thank you.

Shri Vikram Misri, Foreign Secretary:Neeraj, aapka jo prashn tha jo special economic package hai, uska istemaal kis cheez ke liye hoga? Dekhiye, abhi toh humne jo package ka shape aur size hai ek tarah se uspe nirnay liya hai ki 175 million dollar ka yeh package hoga, isme 125 million dollar rupee-denominated line of credit hoga aur 50 million dollar grant ke basis pe hoga. Isme kaun se projects iske tehat aayenge jisme sahayata ki jayegi, yeh abhi poori tarah se identify nahi hua hai.

Kuch ideas hain jo aaj Seychelles ke Rashtrapati ne aur unki delegation ne batchit ke dauran unke baare mein bataya lekin ek inko ek thos roop dene ke liye abhi kuch aur batchit ki avashyakta hai aur aage aane wale dino mein aur mahino mein humare jo wahan pe Raajdoot hain, humara High Commission hai, wahan pe unse baat karke inpe nirnay pe pahunchega.

Lekin mera maanna hai ki jo humari abhi jin-jin kshetron mein humara sahyog chal raha hai chahe woh maritime security ho, jo humare development cooperation initiatives hain, healthcare hai, renewable energy hai, jaise renewable energy ko lekar kaafi wahan pe zor diya ja raha hai, solar energy ko kis tarah se istemaal kiya ja sakta hai kyunki jo bhi urja is samay Seychelles istemaal kar raha hai us sabke liye unko uska aayat karna padta hai toh usme kaafi uspe kharcha aata hai, toh woh solar energy projects pe zor de rahe hain, education pe zor hai, healthcare pe jaise maine kaha, Digital Public Infrastructure, capacity building ke jo initiatives hain, people-to-people exchanges hain, toh inhi sabhi kshetron mein mera vichar hai ki isme jo projects nikalenge woh inhi kshetron se nikalenge. Toh inhe aane wale samay mein finalize kiya jayega, aapko iski soochana dete rahenge.

Jaha tak ocean monitoring ka MOU hai maine abhi jaise kaha, yeh MOU jo hai woh ek Bhartiya sanstha hai, yeh humari jo Earth Sciences ka Mantralay hai uske adheen kaam karti hai, Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services aur inke aur Seychelles Meteorological Authority ke beech mein ek samjhauta hua hai jisme jo ek tarah se Hind Mahasagar hai jahan pe ek tarah se usme Seychelles aur hum apne ek doosre ke padosi hain toh us mahasagar ka jo behavior hai usko lekar ocean observation, ocean services, marine scientists jo hain unki capacity building, unki training aur jo data hum apne-apne systems se jama karte hain usko kaise share kiya ja sake aur jo ek maritime scientific research ka ek vishal kshetra hai usko kaise exchange kar sakein, yeh sab is MOU ke tehet discuss kiya jayega.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi]:Neeraj, regarding your question about what the special economic package will be used for-well, we have currently decided on the overall shape and size of the package. It will be a package of 175 million dollars, which will include a 125 million dollar rupee-denominated line of credit and 50 million dollars in the form of a grant.

As for which projects will fall under this package and receive assistance, that has not yet been fully identified. Some ideas were shared today by the President of Seychelles and his delegation during the discussions, but further dialogue is needed to give them a concrete form. In the coming days and months, we will consult with our Ambassador and our High Commission there, and decisions will be taken accordingly.

But my view is that in the areas where our cooperation is already ongoing-whether it is maritime security, our development cooperation initiatives, healthcare, renewable energy-there is significant emphasis there on renewable energy, especially on how solar energy can be utilized, because whatever energy Seychelles currently uses has to be imported, which involves substantial expenditure. Therefore, they are focusing strongly on solar energy projects. There is also emphasis on education, healthcare as I mentioned, Digital Public Infrastructure, capacity-building initiatives, people-to-people exchanges, and so on. So, I believe that the projects that will emerge under this package will likely come from these very sectors, and they will be finalized in the coming time. We will keep you informed about it.

As far as the MoU on ocean monitoring is concerned, as I mentioned earlier, this MoU has been signed between an Indian institution-the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), which functions under our Ministry of Earth Sciences-and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority. Since, Seychelles and we are, in a way, neighbors in the Indian Ocean, this agreement focuses on understanding the behavior of the ocean. Under this MoU, issues such as ocean observation, ocean services, capacity building and training of marine scientists, and how the data collected through our respective systems can be shared will be discussed. It will also cover how we can exchange and cooperate in the broader field of maritime scientific research.

Maritime security... I think there was a question on Assumption Island. So look, this is something that the two sides had entered into an agreement over in 2015. The intention behind this was to essentially enhance the capacities of Seychelles to monitor its Exclusive Economic Zone, and to reinforce its search and rescue capabilities. I want to make clear that any project that we undertake, any agreement that we enter into with any friendly country is, at the end of the day, driven by the priorities of our partner countries-by their priorities, by their requirements.

It's also a fundamental principle of India's development cooperation initiatives that these are initiatives that are demand-driven rather than supply-driven. And therefore, any such project must be fully aligned with the priorities of the recipient country. We are both, Seychelles and India, interested in... our objective is to support a safe and stable rules-based Indian Ocean region so that the growth and prosperity for all countries in the region can be ensured. Any projects or any initiatives that the Government of Seychelles or the Seychelles authorities want to bring to us in these areas, we would be very happy to examine them and take them forward.

Umashankar, aapka prashn tha shipping line ko leke. Toh mere vichar mein iss samay ek baar phir main yahi kahunga ki-I don't know, there is no direct shipping line at the... there's one right now? There isn't, yeah. Toh kyunki jo vyapaar hai dono deshon ke beech mein woh iss samay itna bada nahi hai ki dono deshon ke beech ek direct shipping line justify ki jaa sake. Aur Seychelles ek tarah se transshipment hub bhi nahi hai ki wahan pe ek direct shipping line bheji jaye. Aane wale samay mein agar vyapaar iss kadar se badhta hai, toh phir ek direct shipping line ke baare mein uss samay vichar kiya jaa sakta hai.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi]:Umashankar, your question was regarding the shipping line. So, in my view, once again I would say that at present- I don't know, is there a direct shipping line at the… there's one right now? There isn't, yes. So, because the trade between the two countries is currently not large enough to justify a direct shipping line between them. And Seychelles is also not really a transshipment hub in such a way that a direct shipping line should be sent there. In the future, if trade grows to that extent, then at that time the possibility of a direct shipping line can be considered.

I think Manas had another question on defense cooperation, hydrography in particular. So, on hydrography, as I said, the key movement forward on this visit is the announcement that has been made to assist Seychelles in its objective of setting up a Seychelles Hydrography Unit. There is obvious shared interest in this area. We will be guided entirely by the priorities of the Seychelles Government on how they want to do this, but we have indicated in principle our support to assisting them in this project for their maritime safety and security.

Totally new to me, I must confess. I know Seychelles looks like a very nice place where Bollywood producers should look to produce films. And I am saying this off my own bat; nobody has asked me to advertise Seychelles for that, but it is indeed a very beautiful place and would present a very scenic location for the production of films. But, I am currently not aware of any proposal either from Bollywood producers or from anywhere else seeking a special dispensation for the supply of equipment for this purpose. But, since we are all interested in good movies, we would be happy to examine this proposal as and when it comes before us.

Yeah, look, this briefing is really about the visit of the President of Seychelles and not about other subjects. But, I can understand that your question is addressing issues that have swirled around for a few days now. So, let me share some thoughts with you and make clear how we are thinking about this particular issue.

You are aware that India is a net importer in the oil and gas sector. We are a developing economy; we have to be conscious about our resource availability. Naturally, when you are dependent to the extent of 80-85% on an imported resource, you have to have concerns about the possibility of inflation driven by energy costs. So, it's not surprising therefore that our foremost priority is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers insofar as energy is concerned-to really ensure that they receive adequate energy at the right price, and through reliable and secure supplies. And our import policy insofar as energy is concerned is therefore driven entirely by these objectives.

Now, you would also have observed that in recent years, the global economy has faced significant uncertainties which have had a major impact on the stability of global energy markets. India certainly-and I would imagine a lot of countries around the world, if not every country-have a shared and common interest in ensuring stable energy prices and secure supplies. And in fact, I would underline that India is not just one of the largest consumers of energy, but it also plays an important role as a stabilizing factor in global energy markets. And that's one reason why we import energy from multiple sources.

So, as I mentioned earlier, the key drivers of our energy policy are adequate availability, fair pricing, and reliability of supply. So, if you look at the data-and I'm sure you're looking at the data on a constant basis-you will see that we import crude oil from dozens of countries. We are neither dependent on any single source for this, nor do we intend to be. And it is natural for the mix of sources to vary from time to time, depending on objective market conditions. Our approach is to maintain multiple sources of supply and diversify them as appropriate to ensure stability. Therefore, I would say that the more diversified we are in this area, the more secure we are.

Insofar as actual sourcing of energy is concerned-again, all of you follow this closely, so you know that the actual sourcing is done by oil companies. Oil companies in the public sector, oil companies in the private sector. And they make decisions based on market conditions. They assess availability at any given point in time, they assess risks, they assess costs in this process. And obviously, all of these companies also have their own internal accountability-related processes to look at, and certain fiduciary responsibilities in the market.

So, at any given time, there is a rather complex matrix of issues that these companies have to take into account, which-not to disregard it-also includes very, very important financial and logistical aspects. So, I expect that what you will continue to see in this sector, in this area, is business choices being made based on these considerations that I have outlined. So, what I can firmly and confidently say is that whether it is the Government or indeed our business, at the end of the day, national interests will be the guiding factor for us in our choices. Thank you.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you sir. With that ladies and gentlemen we come to the close of this press conference. Thank you.

New Delhi
February 09, 2026