India, Seychelles ink six agreements in several fields

India and Seychelles have signed six MoUs to further expand bilateral ties between the two sides.

These include areas of:

The MoUs were exchanged in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Seychelles President Danny Faure after the two leaders held bilaterally and delegation level talks in Hyderabad House.
The Prime Minister announced a line of credit worth 100 million USD for Seychelles.
India also announced to hand over second Dornier aircraft to Seychelles as promised by PM Modi during his visit there in 2015.
The aircraft will reach Seychelles before its National Day on June 29, 2018.

MoU regarding Indian Grant Assistance for implementation of small development projects through local bodies, educational and vocational institutions.
Twinning Agreement on Establishment of Friendship and Cooperation between Panaji (Municipal Corporation), Goa (India) and Victoria City of Seychelles.
MoU in the area of Cyber Security: It was signed between Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) and Seychelles’ Department of Information Communications Technology.
Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Seychelles for the years 2018-2022.
Technical Agreement on Sharing White Shipping Information between Indian Navy and National Information Sharing and Coordination Center of Seychelles which will enable the two countries to exchange data regarding identity and movement of non-military commercial vessels.
MoU between Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of Ministry of External Affairs of India and Department of Foreign Affairs of Seychelles.

Both India and Seychelles have agreed to work together on the project to develop a naval base at Assumption Island keeping each other’s concerns in mind.
Both countries are key strategic partners for each other and they respect the core values of democracy.
They share the geo-strategic vision of maintaining peace, security and stability in Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Both countries share robust defence and security cooperation.
The US $100-million credit from India to enable Seychelles to buy defence equipment to boost its maritime capacity.
Both countries have strategic convergence in dealing with maritime challenges.
Both countries are straddled between one of important Sea Lanes of Communication and vulnerable to piracy.
They face dangers of international crimes such as piracy, drugs, human trafficking and illegal exploitation of oceanic resources.
India is committed to augmenting Seychelles' defence capabilities, maritime infrastructure and increase capabilities of its defence personnel.