Interview with President James Michel at the end of his three-day state visit to India |31 August 2015

‘Seychelles’ ties with India built on mutual trust and on shared values’

Seychelles and India have historical and cultural links and a lot more in common, this is why it is important to reinforce the already healthy relations and pave the way for greater partnership in different areas between both countries based on mutual respect.

President James Michel said this on Thursday in an interview with the local media at the end of a three-day state visit to India at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"It has been a very successful visit as it shows the excellent ties and friendship between India and Seychelles, which will keep growing and developing.

“All my state and official visits to India have been fruitful. Since gaining our independence, India has always been a key strategic partner for us. India shares our vision of putting people at the heart of development and cares for the development of Seychelles and all Seychellois. We also share the same views on international politics and on development in the region. Both our countries recognise the need to bring our economies closer, to drive more growth and create opportunities for entrepreneurs of both nations and wealth for its peoples.

“India likes what the Seychelles government is doing in terms of security in Seychelles and in the Indian Ocean region. The success of the macro-economic reforms and the fact that many more Seychellois are working hard to help our economy grow are all things that interest India who wants to see a stable and prosperous Indian Ocean region. India also likes that there is stability in Seychelles brought about by my government and it wants to continue working with us in the years to come,” said the President.

He added: “India is a close friend of Seychelles, there is great potential to spur greater trade, investment, tourism and cultural exchanges between both countries. Seychelles’ relationship with India has been built on the foundation of mutual trust and shared values. Our strong, multifaceted and important relationship with India occupies a very important place in our foreign policy. We have longstanding bilateral relations based on our commitment to sustainable development.”

The President noted that Seychelles is working with India, a very big country, to reinforce security in the Indian Ocean region in order to help in the development of the Blue Economy concept being pioneered by Seychelles.

Five agreements signed

It is in this line that the two countries signed five agreements which will go a long way in strengthening the ties between them.

The five documents relate to the exchange of information with regard to taxes; a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for providing one Dornier maritime aircraft; an air services agreement; a protocol on framework of cooperation on Blue economy; a MoU in agricultural research and education.

“The signing of these agreements is very important as it consolidates the work our two countries have been doing. For example, under the air services agreement Air Seychelles will be making daily flights to India and it allows other Indian airline companies to fly to Seychelles. More Indian tourists will come to Seychelles and as Seychelles is developing into a hub in the Indian Ocean we expect other visitors to make a stop in Seychelles before taking onward flights to Tanzania, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and soon the Comoros,” said President Michel.

According to Air Seychelles, in May this year it signed and expanded a codeshare agreement with Jet Airways to nine cities in India. This deal provides business and leisure travellers with convenient, one-stop connections to Seychelles from Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Cochin and Trivandrum.

Tickets between Mumbai and Seychelles cost 33,000 Indian rupees inclusive of all taxes.

 “The blue economy is important to India and Seychelles and there should be regular discussions so that both countries can think together and work together and develop better concepts,” said President Michel when he spoke about the protocol on framework of cooperation on the Blue economy.

“We have to work together and see how to develop the Blue economy to areas that can benefit both our countries. India is reputed to have good scientists and we will work with them to develop the Blue economy concept in a sustainable way,” said President Michel.

He explained that through the agreement in agriculture India will help Seychelles in the use of new technology to become self-sufficient.

Although this does not form part of the agreement, it is expected that with direct flights daily to India this will help boost trade as we can import cheaper and quality goods from India.

The agreement on tax information exchange “will make things more transparent and give Seychelles more credibility”, said President Michel.

“With this in place, Indian investors who wish to invest in Seychelles will know they will be operating in a competitive jurisdiction. India has also signed a number of anti-money laundering documents with its international partners. We also hope to sign double taxation agreements with India in the future,” explained President Michel who added that the Indian diaspora is playing a big role in the Seychelles economy and its presence in the delegation for the visit to India was very important.

“They form part of the Seychelles community as they play a part in different sectors of our economy like tourism, building and commerce. They have made a lot of contacts with Indian businesses and this will help boost our economy,” noted Mr Michel.

Maritime security to develop the blue economy

Developing the blue economy goes hand in hand with maritime security and this is why India will be giving Seychelles a Dornier maritime aircraft which will be delivered next year and a new surveillance patrol boat.

“Both Seychelles and India control vast maritime spaces. Maritime security is very important to stop illegal fishing, transnational crimes like trafficking of narcotics, human and arms as they are threats to security in the region. We have been able to put the piracy scourge under control but we never know if it may reappear some day. With a lot of resources, India has been helping Seychelles a lot. India also believes in Seychelles’ capacity to defend its exclusive economic zone.  The arrival of the Dornier aircraft and the surveillance boat will also provide more opportunities for young male and female Seychellois to join the navy to continue defending our EEZ,” said the President.

He added that everywhere you go in the world people are talking about the Blue economy and this is thanks to Seychelles which has brought it to all the international fora.

India is also developing a radar surveillance system and the first of three phases has already completed. This will give Seychelles a better coverage of its territory to combat any crime being committed. An Indian delegation will be coming to Seychelles to see how it can collect information and give early warnings in case of bad weather.

Speaking on the agreement on Assumption Island, on which India has begun the process of infrastructure work, President Michel said India is developing the island and he clarified that Seychelles has not leased the island to India and that it was a joint project for collaboration to "survey and have maritime presence and safeguard that part of our ocean".