Finance
Seychelles President Patrick Herminie landed in New Delhi early on Thursday for a five-day State Visit to India at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s invitation.
Following his gracious reception in India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) took to X and stated, “Celebrating 50 years of historic and multifaceted India-Seychelles bilateral ties. President Dr Patrick Herminie of Seychelles arrives in Chennai for his first state visit to India.
It will be Herminie’s first visit to India since taking office in October of last year. He is on a five-day visit until February 10.
During his visit, the Seychelles President will meet with President Droupadi Murmu and speak with Prime Minister Modi about bilateral, regional, and international topics of mutual importance.
His journey to India also coincides with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Patrick Herminie will thereafter visit Chennai and Mumbai to attend business engagements.
The MEA stated that his visit to India is aimed to boost broad-based collaboration between the two countries.
“Seychelles is a key maritime neighbour for India in the Indian Ocean region and holds a special place in India’s Vision MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) and our commitment to the Global South,” read a statement issued by the MEA ahead of the visit.
“The visit of President Herminie to India, following the visit of the Vice President of India to Seychelles in October 2025, is expected to lend further momentum to wide-ranging cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries,” it added.
Herminie was sworn in as the sixth President of Seychelles during a national ceremony held at Unity Stadium in October 2025. Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan attended the swearing-in ceremony as India’s representative.
During his visit, Vice President Radhakrishnan met with Herminie at the State House in Victoria and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral collaboration between the two countries.
He also congratulated President Herminie on his assumption of office on behalf of the Indian government and people. The Vice President’s office stated that both leaders reaffirmed their common objective of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indian Ocean Region and the Global South.
Radhakrishnan also met with Seychelles Vice President Sebastien Pillay at State House to discuss various elements of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
“Both leaders discussed the multi-faceted India–Seychelles relationship, rooted in shared heritage, culture, and people-to-people ties”, the MEA said.
Diplomatic relations between India and Seychelles were established upon the latter’s independence in 1976. When Seychelles gained independence on June 29, 1976, a contingent from the Indian Naval Ship, INS Nilgiri, took part in the Independence Day celebrations, according to the MEA.
The Indian Mission was founded in 1979 in Victoria, with the High Commissioner stationed in Dar-es-Salaam with concurrent accreditation to Seychelles.
The first resident High Commissioner was appointed in 1987, and Seychelles established its resident mission in New Delhi in 2008.
Source: IANS
