Victoria, June 26 (IANS) Hailing ties between India and Seychelles as “dynamic and excellent”, India’s High Commissioner to Seychelles, Rohit Rathish, on Friday, stated that both nations are looking to introduce new areas of cooperation like Artificial Intelligence (AI), cyberspace, cybersecurity, marine sciences and conservation and blue economy.

In an interview with IANS, Rathish said that India and Seychelles are expected to sign a number of outcomes and agreements across all sectors during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s upcoming visit to Seychelles. He recalled Seychelles President Patrick Herminie’s visit to India in February and Vice President CP Radhakrishnan’s visit to Seychelles in October last year.

On ties between India and Seychelles, he said: “The current state of the partnership is dynamic, it’s excellent. Recently, in the past nine months, the relationship has intensified, has received new energy and momentum under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. You would recall that Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnanji visited Seychelles to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President Dr Patrick Herminie late last year. There was a state visit by the President to Seychelles in February this year, and now we have the Prime Minister’s visit, which caps an intense period of bilateral relations which has deepened political trust and strengthened and expanded our bilateral cooperation across various areas. There will be a number of outcomes and agreements across all the sectors that I’ve described, and we are also looking to introduce new areas of cooperation, like I said, in AI, cyberspace, cybersecurity, marine sciences and conservation, blue economy, and of course, strengthen our defence and security ties to a large extent.”

PM Modi is set to travel to Seychelles for a State visit from June 27-29 at the invitation of Seychelles President Herminie. During his visit, PM Modi will hold talks with President Herminie to review the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues of mutual interest. He will also address the National Assembly of Seychelles and interact with members of the Indian diaspora.

Asked about the role Seychelles plays in India’s vision for the Indian Ocean region, the High Commissioner said: “We share this region. Both countries share this region. Both countries depend on the Indian Ocean for our economic security, for our maritime security, et cetera. And we are also culturally tied to this region for centuries. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had enunciated Vision Mahasagar a few years ago. Now, Vision Mahasagar encompasses trade, capacity building, maritime security and a number of areas and advocates for collective stewardship of the Indian Ocean region by the regional partners.”

“So, our approach to the region is to strengthen the capacities of our partner countries, be a first responder in case of need, and work together to tackle the threats that the region faces, that all the countries in the region face, particularly in the areas of drug trafficking, human trafficking, and illegal fishing. Our defence and security ties with Seychelles, I must underline, are better than ever. We work together on numerous fronts. We have assisted Seychelles in the past with the gifting of Donier aircraft, patrol ships, etc. A number of Seychelles defence forces personnel are training in India. We exchange real-time information with the Seychelles defence forces to tackle the threats that they face. And we will see forward movement under the guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in this particular sphere as well,” he added.

Rohit Rathish stated that India and Seychelles will continue to work on marine spatial planning, coastal management and marine conservation. He stated that PM Modi’s discussions with President Herminie will advance joint research avenues and marine expedition prospects so that both countries can work together to safeguard and preserve the Indian Ocean and its biodiversity.

About the progress made by India and Seychelles on blue economy and sustainable development, he said: “This is a very exciting and new area that we are exploring together with great momentum. President Dr Herminie, during his State visit to India, visited the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management in Chennai. That thread of cooperation advances. We will continue to work on marine spatial planning, coastal management, marine conservation, etc. We also have an MoU on INCOIS, with INCOIS in Hyderabad and the Seychelles Meteorological Authority. on ocean sciences and ocean observation, and a separate MoU on weather forecasting. Now this is a new frontier. I think Prime Minister’s discussions with President Dr Herminie will advance joint research avenues, will advance marine expedition prospects so that both countries can work together to safeguard and also preserve the Indian Ocean and its biodiversity.”

The envoy called Seychelles a “key partner” for India in Vision Mahasagar and noted that the two nations have shared history, geography and cultural ties. He stated that PM Modi’s visit to Seychelles will bring new energy, momentum and a great vision for the future of the bilateral partnership.

On what message PM Modi’s visit sends to Seychelles about India’s commitment, he said: “I think Seychelles is a very key partner for India in Vision Mahasagar, which the Prime Minister had enunciated. Vision Mahasagar is a very broad-based vision which encompasses various elements as far as our cooperation on the maritime domain is concerned for very specific reasons that I mentioned earlier, including a shared history, a shared geography, cultural ties, etc. I think Seychelles will continue to remain a very key partner.”

“This visit, historic as its background is, will also be an opportunity for the Prime Minister and the President to look at new areas of cooperation, strengthen our partnership well into the future. I think we are laying the foundations for the next 50 years of our partnership, and you will see that the Prime Minister’s visit will bring new energy, new momentum, and a great vision for the future of this partnership. The best is yet to come,” he added.

–IANS

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